


FOR CAYDE: SHADOWKEEP AND BEYOND

by AislinAvalbane312



Series: Cayde and Aislin - The For Cayde Series [4]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Destiny, Destiny 2, Destiny Shadowkeep, F/M, destiny forsaken - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:29:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 78,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24382087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AislinAvalbane312/pseuds/AislinAvalbane312
Summary: Part 3 to the 'For Cayde Series'.
Relationships: Cayde-6/Female Guardian (Destiny)
Series: Cayde and Aislin - The For Cayde Series [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1289249
Comments: 55
Kudos: 97





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is! Part 3! 
> 
> Now, this one is going to likely play out a bit different than the other two parts. As most of you know, Bungie's story and the way the game is going is ... well, it's kind of all over the place at the moment and not really forming a cohesive story quite like it did in the past. So I'm going to play this one by ear and see how the game plays out to determine how this goes at certain points. 
> 
> Mostly, though, I just hope you enjoy continuing the adventure with Cayde and Aislin!
> 
> As always, the first chapter is the kick-off and more to come as soon as I can. This is a crazy year and I hope all of you are safe and doing well and this offers up a nice escape. I'm also working on a home reno and getting a garden going - which I've never done before - so if things get a little delayed, I apologize now but know I will be working on stuff to get it out as best I can!
> 
> Okay, on with the fic! ❤️

“Comin’ up on the Lunar surface; approaching the Battlegrounds. Looks like we got some heavy fire happenin’ below. Iko-” Cayde was abruptly cut off as a shockwave from an explosion down below slammed into the right wing of the ship bouncing us hard, causing a few sparks to fly from the ships panel. Alarms went off and I heard Cayde curse under his breath as he grunted, no doubt pulling on the stick, doing his best to level us out before the engines shut down. 

“We’re losing power,” Ghost told him, hovering over Cayde’s shoulder in front of me as he looked over the control panel. “Attempting to reroute the connections,” he said, his light beam scanning over the spot where the sparks were popping and a few small tendrils of smoke were slowly wafting up into the air. 

“Damnit! Come on, baby, don’t do this to me now,” Cayde hissed. “Ais! Hit the left thrusters!”

I flipped back a control cover and pushed a yellow button underneath, activating the thrusters to help Cayde get control, hearing the low rumble of the rockets echo from inside the cockpit, the ship pushing itself up, gradually leveling us with the Moon’s horizon. 

With the alarms silencing, Ghost sighed, the sides of his shell dropping a bit in relief. “I _told_ you Amanda needed to look the ship over before we flew it again,” he chided Cayde.

“Okay, okay! I’ll have her look at it when we get back,” Cayde conceded. “It was flyin’ fine last week.”

Ghost seemed to frown. “Cayde, the Queen of Hearts is …” 

“Old? You were gonna say old, weren’t’chya?” Cayde asked him.

“I really didn’t want to say ‘old’ since I know it’s younger than you.”

“She,” Cayde corrected. “And she’s not ‘old’, she’s in her prime!”

“Right,” Ghost bobbed. “It’s just _you_ who’s old,” he ribbed.

“Ooooooh. Says the little squawk-box that was around even before me! You’re flyin’ the long way home,” Cayde idly threatened.

I couldn’t help the smile tugging at my lips at the way they bantered, the tones in both their voices hinting at the playful humor in it all, never malice, and reached around the seat in front of me, affectionately petting Cayde’s shoulder. My husband may have been around a long time, but he was still very much a young man at heart.

As he brought us back around to the landing zone, I looked out the window and saw a tall, slender, blood-red and spike covered tower emerging from below that hadn’t been here the last time I’d been on the Moon. It seemed as if it had forced its way up from below the surface, splitting the very crust of the satellite in two, creating ominous and jagged mountainous cliffs that rose up to the stars on either side of it. All around there was an eerie, sickening, greenish light, too, its source seeming to come from below as well, the sight leaving a tight knot in the pit of my stomach.

About a month ago I’d started waking up from nightmares. I’d be trapped in a deep, dark cave of some kind, completely naked and wandering though, barely able to see my own hand in front of my face. I’d be using the rough and jagged walls to help guide me, carefully stepping along the uneven and cold ground that seemed to be slanted on a downward slope, taking me deeper and deeper. The lower I went, the more an eerie bile-like green light would seem to emerge, as if it were slowly oozing out of the cracks and crevices of the walls and floor, tiny red and white flowers peeking up from around rocks, gradually laying out in a strange pattern before me, opening and closing in an unsettling way that made them seem sentient. Focused on the flowers, I’d suddenly bump into something smooth and hard. Something so cold it burned upon touching it. I’d hiss, feeling the unbearable stinging on my skin, and turn to see what it was I’d walked into, barely able to make out the edge of the massive object before a bright white light would flash all around, an intense and invisible force pulling at my middle, lifting me off my feet and drawing me into it. 

That’s when I’d wake up in a cold sweat to Cayde’s soothing voice trying to calm me down, arms around me, fingers carding through my hair. 

I’d told him everything I could remember about it and, after the third time waking up from the same nightmare, he made me talk to Ikora and tell her what I’d told him. She seemed a little more than intrigued but also worried, and reminded me that the last time I’d seen flowers like the ones I described, was when I was in the Black Garden. She was almost certain my nightmares weren’t simply that, but dreams similar to ones she tended to have. When some outside force - perhaps the Traveler - was trying to tell her something.

The green light that had oozed out from the cracks in the walls, though … that was Hive and Ascendant Realm territory. Not Black Garden territory. And seeing the green light again now … It concerned me. Made me wonder if something really was trying to communicate with me though my dreams. 

“You alright back there, kiddo?” Cayde asked, drawing me out of my thoughts. I blinked and cleared my throat, nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay,” I assured. “Just … the light …”

“Yeah. I saw it, baby,” he softly stated in a way that told me he’d made the same connection I had. I saw Ghost had turned around and was now looking at me with concern and I offered him a weak smile, petting his shell.

“It’s like it just … pushed itself up from below the surface,” Ghost noted as Cayde and I made our way across the Lunar Battlefield, helping other Guardians push the Hive back as best we could. I looked over that the high spiked tower off in the distance, rising up out of the Moon’s crust like a sharp and bloody shard of bone sticking up out of a gaping wound, raw and angry.

“Hard to believe something like that was beneath our feet the whole time we were up here and we never knew,” Ghost continued.

Cayde chuckled in a knowing way through the comm. He was about a hundred feet from me, on the other side of some buildings, helping take out a Wizard that was giving some newer Guardians a hard time. “There’s always stuff you never know about, bumpin’ around in the dark, Little Buddy. S’what keeps ya on your toes! Or … er … the edge of your shell.”

“Reminds me of the Dreadnaught,” I said. “It’s got that same creepy organic look and vibe to it. Like it was once alive and you’re just … crawling around inside it.”

“Ew,” Cayde uttered.

Zavala cut in over the comms then, addressing all Guardians who had an open frequency: “The Hive pour onto the surface of the Moon from the Keep. That is where our disturbance originated. We must regain a lunar foothold. For some of you, this is all too familiar. But do not let the atrocities of Crota haunt you. Whatever this is, we will not let the tragedies of our past repeat themselves.”

Easier said than done. The green aura around the Keep kept those days constantly playing over and over in the back of my mind. I remembered venturing far below the Moon’s surface, just Ghost and I, all alone in those vile depths, creeping along, searching for a ritual chamber and being as quiet as possible. We hadn’t wanted to alert the Thrall who we could hear behind walls and under walkways, quietly scraping their razor sharp claws along the surfaces and chittering to one another. We could also hear a sickening lapping sound as they gathered around some disgusting fungus that grew like a subtle slime coating over the surface of the floor. Occasionally, one would let out a low wail and hiss, and I’d freeze in place, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end, not sure exactly where it was, wondering if it had heard or smelled me and was alerting the others. 

It wasn’t that Thrall scared me. They didn’t. It was the _sounds_ they made. Inhuman and primal. They were disturbing in a way I couldn’t really describe. Like nails on a chalkboard, but that chalkboard was in your gut. It set you on edge in a way that was like waiting for cold, boney fingers to touch your bare back, right between your shoulder blades. Like, you could just sense them there but they were waiting for you to let your guard down, and the whole time your back was tensed and trembling, just wanting it to be over with. That feeling had never left me and I found myself always waiting for it whenever I ventured into Hive territory. I could handle the Ascendant Realm better than delving into the deepest depths of the Moon. How Eris survived it for so long was a true testament to her strength and resolve.

I hoped she was alright. That she was alive.

It was actually why Cayde and I were here. 

Ikora had sent us while Zavala focused on guiding the rest of the Guardian troops to regaining the footholds and a new landing zone. Apparently, a few days prior, Eris had gone on a solo scouting mission deeper into the Moon. Shortly after was when the disturbance was registered back at the Tower. Ikora wasn’t showing it much but Cayde and I could both tell she felt guilty. She was the one who’d allowed Eris to go. But Cayde reminded her how tough Eris was and that that she knew the risks better than anyone. He was sure she was okay. Then he smiled a bit and told Ikora that Eris just had to be. She still hadn’t accepted his apology or the ship he’d found for her to replace the one destroyed by the Dreadnaught, and she wasn’t allowed to die until she did.

It had been an attempt to make Ikora smile, but it sort of fell flat because she was far too worried. Although I could see the look in her eyes. She’d appreciated the attempt.

The joke having not gone over well, Cayde pet her shoulder and nodded. “We’ll find her,” he’d promised her, serious again, then looked over at Ghost and I, both of us nodding. 

I was likely the only living Guardian who, aside from Eris, knew the Moon so well. Knew the depths, the passages, and tunnels within Hive territory. Knew what was lurking in the dark and knowing they were just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

I wasn’t afraid to go back in. I just hated to. I hated it down there. The Moon itself was beautiful. Peaceful, even. No sky. No clouds. No sound. Just endless stars twinkling in the blackness and the most incredible view of home you could ever get. So clear and crisp. But, below the Moon’s surface … that was a whole other story.

I still wasn’t sure how my recent nightmares were connected to all this, but it was clear there was some kind of connection. Something was trying to reach out. 

Why me, though … Well … there were a few reasons that could be.

“Hive are backin’ off this area,” Cayde said over the comm. “Looks like they just couldn’t handle all-a me at once. The awesome was too great!” I chuckled. “The others got this party pretty well wrapped up. Whaddeya say we go crash another one on the other side?” He asked me.

“On my way,” I told him.

The first part wasn’t too bad. There was an open portal and a set of Hive keys we’d needed to activate to shut it down. I’d recalled other keys like the ones we found here, and Cayde told me he’d run into a few, too, back in his adventuring days. He’d told me about how he and the crew would run into them whenever they dared traipse around deep Hive territory, looking for bounties to turn in, resources to sell off, or loot to claim as their own. All the good stuff was always behind locks! 

“Well, good stuff or death,” he’d said. “Or sometimes both. Either way, it was exciting to find out which!”

“You lookin’ for some _real_ fun, Cayde?” A voice cut in.

“Amanda?” Ghost asked. “What are you doing on this channel?” He curiously asked.

“Helpin’ out with a little somethin’ special,” she replied. “Gotya pinged. Meet me on the other side of the gate!”

“Please be a tank, please be a tank,” Cayde chanted as we hurried though the interior gate, following a path already cut into the Moon’s surface by what looked like tire tracks, perhaps from one of the old Lunar vehicles. Apparently this had once been research grounds for the colonists who had lived up here in the Golden Age. It was amazing how, after centuries the tracks were still there thanks to no atmosphere being on the moon. Pity such an intriguing part of history was now destroyed. 

As we came out on the other side we crossed over a bridge and into Sorrow’s Harbor, the Keep and its tower now in full relief before us.

I heard the low rumble of a ship coming in close and looked up to see it was Amanda’s. “Look out below!” She called through the comms, hovering low, dropping a tank not too far from us.

Cayde whooped and fist-pumped the air, bouncing in place and blowing kisses of praise up toward the ship. “Oh - ho, baby, YES! And it’s not even my birthday!”

Amanda and I laughed. “Thank me later, cowboy, and get yourself in that thing,” she told him. “You got company closin’ in on your position. Fast! Eleven o’clock!” 

I felt the ground begin thudding under my feet and looked in the direction Amanda was turning her ship. The vibration grew more intense, followed by low, gurgling roars and blasts of purple light, aimed right at Amanda’s ship, hitting the bottom of it.

“Amanda, back off!” Cayde ordered. “They’ll cut right through that thing!” He hurried to the tank and got in as I rushed ahead of it, my Sentinel Shield materializing on my left arm. I looked up at the ship noticing Amanda pulling it back out of range, the bottom of the main body and part of one engine seared and blackened from the Ogre’s blast but otherwise okay and holding out. I opened my shield further and planted it into the ground as a barricade, Cayde rolling the tank right up behind me. Three Ogres were ambling up the hill toward us, Acolytes and Thrall washing around them like a river around rocks. More blasts from the Ogres, directed at us now, began pushing me back as all three of them attempted to take down my shield. I dug my boots into the ground as best I could, but the Moon’s soil was just too loose and I couldn’t get a proper hold. “Hang on, babe, I gotchya!” Cayde told me. I heard the cannon adjusting to aim just before it went off, the blast hitting the Ogre’s dead center, killing the one that took the direct hit and staggering the other two. The force of the blast was so strong, it leveled the Thrall that had come rushing up toward us, killing them instantly and setting off a chain reaction when the Cursed Thrall that were mingled in with them exploded. The two remaining Ogres staggered, attempting to right themselves and come after us again but they were weak and clearly badly wounded. I finished them off, throwing my shield, the lighted disk spinning around like a boomerang, taking off their heads before coming back to me.

“Man, you shoulda seen how good that looked from up here!” Amanda cheered.

“You alright, kid?” Cayde asked.

“Oh yeah. You didn’t think I’d come up here without reinforcin’ this baby, did ya?” She asked him. “Might need a fresh coat of paint, though.” I heard Cayde softly chuckling in reply and could sense he was proud of her. Amanda was smart and could definitely hold her own in a fight, and, while she wasn’t a Guardian, she didn’t let a little thing like mortality stop her from helping! I knew it worried Cayde sometimes, but I also knew that he knew that if Amanda was going to go out, she’d want it to be fighting for the City her parents had sacrificed everything to get her to, and the friends and family she’d come to find there. 

The all too familiar sound of a large Shrieker echoed in the distance and I saw it opening above a platform not too far from us. “Oh great,” I muttered. “We got a Shrieker,” I told Cayde.

“You got more Thrall and Ogres comin’ in on your left, too.” Amanda told us. “And I think I see a Knight or two.”

Cayde let out a long, lamenting sigh. “It’s so tough bein’ popular,” he said, making Amanda and I laugh as he backed the tank up and relocated it up a rocky ramp to get some high ground and a better aim on the Shrieker. 

It took some work but the three of us managed to clear the Harbor, Cayde chasing after the Shrieker as it kept teleporting from platform to platform, attempting to release more Hive into the area, while Amanda focused on the Thrall and Acolytes, and I took care of the Knights.

When the Harbor was finally cleared, save a few straggling Thrall, Cayde parked the tank just outside the entrance to the Keep and got out. He stood atop the cannon and gave Amanda a two-finger salute off his brow, his cloak billowing behind him from the force of the jets holding her ship at a hover. “Thanks, Amanda!”

“Anything for you two. Come back home safe,” she told us, then lifted the ship higher and turned it, heading back home to Earth.

I lifted my sun visor so Cayde could see my face through my helmet and smirked at him as he hopped down off the tank, checking his cannon. 

“What?” He asked.

“So, how many tanks is that now that you got to drive since getting together with me?” I asked, my smirk becoming a grin.

“Ooooh. Are you sayin’ that you’re like … the tank genie?” He smirked back, shimmying up to me. “I uh … rub ya the right way and all my wishes come true?”

“Well, I mean … I don’t want to gloat, but … I am pretty awesome that way,” I nodded.

Cayde laughed and shook his head. “Ooooh, I’m rubbin’ off on ya, alright! You sounded just like me there!”

I pet his chest. “What can I say?” I asked. “I emulate the greatest people in my life.”

“Awww. So sweet,” he cooed. “Hard to believe you’re gonna blow something's head off pretty soon.”

I laughed again and Cayde snickered as he leaned into me, lightly touching the front of his helmet to mine, giving me a little hug.

“Hey, Ikora? We’re inside,” Cayde said, opening up the direct channel as we headed though an open archway, Hive symbols hanging overhead.

“I read you,” Ikora replied.

I found myself instantly transported back to the Dreadnaught. The same architecture, the same sickly yellow lighting from the Hive crystals suspended from the ceiling on thin chains, and the same strange symbols burned into long narrow tablets and embedded in the ground. The only other light sources seemed to be some kind of bioluminescence that looked like embers trapped behind a barnacle-like fungus growing on the walls. Everything was dusty, old, and dead. Like a tomb. Eerie and unequivocally depressing.

“So, uh … any idea where she might be?” Cayde asked Ikora, laying his hand on my shoulder, petting it, apparently sensing the mood this place stirred up in me. I smiled, appreciating it, so glad he was here with Ghost and I this time. He’d been with us on the Dreadnaught. But only though the comms. Having him here now meant everything.

“Eris came to me,” Ikora answered. “She’d found evidence of something very old on the Moon. A potential threat to humanity. But she never said what it was. At the time she’d last contacted me, her signal was weak. Something I can only guess was a result of being deep under the surface.”

“Well, looks like we’re heading in the right direction, then,” I nodded, noticing the slope of our pathway grow a bit steeper, the lighting growing quite dim, a single softly lit green Hive lantern at the end of the tunnel before the pathway dropped down to another level.

As we delved deeper, the architecture gradually gave way to hand clawed tunnels dug out by Thrall, the sides crudely held up by what looked like fused metal spears criss-crossed like latticework.

A low cracking static came back over the comm channel in response.

“Ikora? ... We’ve lost her signal,” Ghost told us. 

“Hive interference,” Cayde said. “Somethin’ about that so called magic they use. Doesn’t jive with our radio signals.”

I nodded, very used to that aspect of delving deep into Hive territory, and switched to my Sunshot, wanting something that had a bit more kick and could take out more than one enemy at a time, not wanting the Thrall to have an advantage in a tight space. 

As we delved deeper, I noticed a weird vapor beginning to form around us, enveloping us in a way that was almost akin to someone slowly wrapping a blanket around our shoulders. It moved slowly and shimmered, almost like engine oil on the surface of water. 

“That’s strange,” Ghost noted as I moved my hand though it, noticing it didn’t really react the way I’d expected. It was like it gave way instead of being displaced and pushed by my movements. There was something … oddly familiar about it, too. Something I couldn’t place.

I looked over at Cayde, noticing he was moving his hand though it as well and I sensed an almost sinking feeling about him. Like something triggered. “What is it?” I asked him.

He shook his head. “I don’t know,” he uttered. “Something about it … I …” He shook his head again. “I don’t know.”

“Me, too,” I quietly admitted, nodding. “Something’s off about this. This doesn’t feel like Hive.”

“You pickin’ up anything, Little Buddy?” Cayde asked Ghost.

“A signal. The source of the disturbance. It’s up ahead. About two hundred meters,” he told us.

I took point and we continued through the tunnel. 

Up ahead, there was a bend in the path and a large rock taking up half the right side. I carefully moved around it, not picking anything up on the tracker, but checking the other side anyway, making sure nothing was hiding there ready to spring out at us. Seeing it was clear, I continued on down the tunnel, and that’s when I thought I saw something not far up ahead. I slowed my pace, squinting into the darkness, trying to make out what it was. It was something with a reddish hue, just … standing, motionless in the dark. I thought it might have been a Thrall, but it wasn’t moving at all, nor did It appear to be hunched over. “What the … ? Cayde?” I whispered. “You see that?” I asked him, pointing toward it with the end of my gun.

I felt him come up behind me, looking over my left shoulder, the object gaining a clear humanoid shape. It almost looked like a Guardian. A Hunter. It lifted its head to look at us, its face blank, then silently disappeared like a … a phantom as soon as Ghost’s light fully focused on it. I straightened, startled and a bit disturbed by it, and backed up a little, bumping into Cayde’s chest as I did, forcing him to take a step back. “Tell me you guys saw that,” I uttered to him and Ghost.

“Yes,” Ghost whispered, the tone of his voice just as startled as I was.

“Yeah. I saw … it, too,” Cayde hesitantly whispered as well, easing his arm around me, backing me up further as he stepped around me, motioning me to stay put while he ventured a few steps ahead. 

“Cayde,” I whispered.

He held a finger up, wanting me to be quiet, and took a few more steps forward, looking all around before shaking his head. “Gone,” he uttered, his shoulders slumping a little.

I frowned and made my way over to him. “Hey,” I said, touching his shoulder. He actually jumped a little, the reaction surprising me. “What is it?” I asked, concerned.

He looked at me and shook his head. “I, uh … I’m not sure. I thought …” 

“Thought what?”

He shook his head again. “It’s alright,” he told me, petting my arm, straightening some. “I’m alright. Come on. We gotta find Eris.”

I frowned, but nodded, agreeing. She was the priority right now.

“I got some light up ahead,” Ghost told us as we came up on another part of the tunnel that dropped down. I crouched and peeked around, checking to see if we were clear to jump down. When I didn’t see anything, I hopped down onto the first ledge, then the second, hearing Cayde jumping down behind me. I noticed a strange Hive lantern leaning up against something, softly lighting what appeared to be a small cave, hand clawed columns spread around, holding up the ceiling.

As soon as my boots touched the ground, four small orbs of shimmering black vapor - almost like what we saw earlier, only more clustered - formed mid-air, growing bigger and bigger, until low, guttural shrieks identified them as Thrall. They seemed to appear out of nowhere, almost like the phantom we we just saw, then came rushing toward us like rabid dogs. Their exoskeletons were red, like the Thrall we’d seen up on the surface, only more spiked, their overall build more gnarled and vicious in appearance. As we shot them, more appeared, materializing out of that same strange vapor. My Sunshot managed to take three out at a time, and Cayde’s Ace took a few out in one go as well, but it still didn’t seem like enough. They were materializing as fast as we shot them! “You ever seen Hive do this before?” I asked.

“Nope,” Cayde answered, shooting one Thrall and throwing his knife at another particularly nasty one that had come at him, snarling and gnashing its teeth, slimy drool dripping from its chin. The knife went right though its head, and its body instantly went limp, dropping with a dead thud. More screeches rose up around us and we soon found ourselves surrounded. “Shit,” I cursed under my breath. “We’re going to get overwhelmed.”

“Back up,” Cayde told me and, as soon as I did, he leapt up into the air, fire engulfing his body as he sent out a barrage of burning blades, turning all the Thrall around us into nothing but smoldering piles of ash.

I’d never get tired of seeing that. It was always so impressive and strangely sexy at the same time. Even after having seen him do it many times, I think I was still enamored with his abilities. They were impressive and seeing him wield them was mesmerizing. The usual image I had of him in my mind was still him being a full out Vanguard, unfortunately always stuck in the Tower, rather than one with me, his duties now divided.

We’d actually managed to make it work pretty well. Cayde got reports and maps prepared for his scouts all laid out, ready for them, and we’d charged a frame to dispense them in a similar way to how Xander 99-40 used to give out bounties in the old Tower. Of course, it wasn’t all the time. Just when we went out together for big missions when us working together would be best. This way, Cayde could still hold his Vanguard position but also be out in the field and, for a Hunter, who hated being cooped up, it was a perfect balance.

Of course, I did sometimes have to remind him to get things done for the next day if we were going out, otherwise, true to being Cayde, he’d slack off. But he was getting better about that. I think he was a little worried about disappointing me in some way, so he’d upped his game and maturity level there. 

“Huh. That was … easy,” Cayde said drawing me back. He dusted off his hands then checked his cannon, reloading.

“Too easy,” I noted with a nod.

“These Hive … they’re not actually Hive,” Ghost noted, examining the ashes. 

“Whatdeya mean?” Cyade asked, going over to him, crouching down beside him. “They looked like Thrall to me. Maybe a bit more spiky, but …” He shrugged.

“Their energy signature is entirely unfamiliar,” Ghost told him, looking over at him.

I frowned. “What the hell did Eris stumble on?” I wondered aloud, poking at an ash pile with the toe of my boot. 

“We keep goin’ we’ll find out,” Cayde said, standing back up.

“I hate when you say things like that,” Ghost sighed.

There were three separate tunnels at the back of the cave, two of which were heavily clawed at, the dirt around the entrances with clear paths dug into them from Hive going back and forth. The other tunnel was where the signal was strongest so we headed through that one, Cayde taking point. 

“This reminds me of my early days on the Moon,” Cayde told us as we made our way through. “Markin’ Lost Sectors, scavenging for parts and loot.”

I smiled. “Ever find anything good?” I asked him.

“Depends on your definition of good. Lots of it was parts and resources that we’d traded for other stuff or sold. Stuff from the Lunar landings. We did find some cool uniforms and space suits. But it was weird, we could take ship and machine parts no problem, but we all felt like we should leave the uniforms and suits. Like … they needed to stay as a memorial to those who’d been here and set up the colonies.”

I nodded. “Did you ever go to the spot where the very first landing took place? The one form way back before the Golden Age?”

“Oh yeah,” he nodded.

“And?” I asked. 

“There’s not much there,” he said. “Not that I expected there to be after all these centuries and Fallen, Hive, and Cabal all traipsin’ around. Just broken leg pieces to the lander they used and the skeleton of what used to be a vehicle, the rest of it stripped. The flag that was planted is long gone. And the old footprints are all but gone, too.” 

It seemed like such a tremendous feat by humanity should have somehow been preserved. Respected. “Hey, don’t let it get ya down,” he said, likely sensing it had made me a little sad. “That’s time, babe. Eventually things change. Fade away. Doesn’t change what happened, though. That’s part-a history. It’ll always be there.”

I smiled. “You make a good point.”

“Course I do. I’m awesome that way.”

I grinned and Cayde chuckled as he went around the corner in front of us, the tunnel opening up again, then, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. “Uuuuh … Babe?”

“What?”

“Think the Moon’s haunted.”

I frowned. “What?” I scoffed. That was an odd thing for him to say. I emerged from the tunnel beside him, following his gaze up to where the area fully opened up to the sky above, the Earth is full brilliant relief, glowing and casting an etherial light over the Moon’s gray surface.

As my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw them. More of the phantoms like we’d seen before, all of them floating above a long slanted ledge that tilted down into the cave from the surface. There were about a dozen of them, silently staring down at us, no expressions or any movement at all. They actually looked like they were … hanging by their necks from invisible ropes. “What the fu …?” 

“Uh huh,” he nodded.

“They’re not … doing anything,” I noted. “I mean … if they were going to attack us … they’d have done it by now, right?” 

“I’d think so,” Cayde nodded.

“They look kind of like … Guardians,” Ghost uttered.

This was usually where Cayde had something witty to say. A joke or a jab. Something. Anything in a moment like this to break the tension or unease. But not this time. He was unusually serious, the humor completely gone. “Cay-”

“Let’s keep goin’,” he quickly suggested and I could tell, by the tone of his voice, now wasn’t the time to question him about it.

When we hopped down to the next level, the path winded around what now felt like a canyon. I glanced up, seeing three of the red figures hovering high above us, blankly staring down, oddly seeming to follow us with a non-existent gaze. I felt that figurative cold, bony finger run up my spine and I shuddered. Something was definitely off.

“The source of the disturbance should be right around here,” Ghost told us as we neared another bend in the path. I could see the same greenish light that rose up around the Keep reflecting on the earthy wall in front of us and, the instant we rounded the corner, I felt all the blood drain from my face, picking up a similar paling sensation from Cayde. Without even giving it a thought, I grabbed at his forearm, squeezing it, unsure if I was just shocked, or frightened by the sight.

“That’s … one of those Pyramids,” Ghost stated, disbelief lacing his tone as more of that strange vapor began surrounding us. “It can’t be. That should not be here.”

I heard Cayde utter something under his breath but I couldn’t make out what it was. “What?” I asked him, but he didn’t answer me.

“You pickin’ up Eris anywhere near that thing?” He asked Ghost.

“No,” Ghost replied. “But it is possible she may have gone inside,” he added.

“Damn it,” Cayde muttered, then opened up the comms. “Ikora?” He was answered with static. “Shit.”

“Cayde, what’s - ”

“You know what that thing is, right?” He asked me and I nodded. He knew I did. “That’s why things are off and we’re seein’ the things we are. This weird fog?” He said, running his hand though it again, “I know why it’s familiar to ya now. The Garden. The Heart. Remember what it looked like? How it moved. What it was a piece of.”

My eyes widened and I looked over at the Pyramid. “Oh, Light,” I uttered.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “That's not an empty ship. It’s here.”

“And Eris?” I asked. “Do you think she’s …” I pointed toward the Pyramid.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But there’s only one way to find out,” he said. “And, I ain’t gonna lie … as bad as that thing is right there … After all this time, I kinda want to know what’s inside.” He looked at me and, despite who he was, what he was, and the position he held, his eyes seemed to be asking me permission to be able to do that. 

I smiled a little. I really had chosen the right guy. “What’s the old saying?” I asked him, double checking my cannon. “No guts, no glory?”

The air about him instantly lightened, despite what we were starring down, and he stood a bit straighter, a smile lifting the plates on his face. “That’s the woman I love,” he nodded, my smile becoming a grin. 

“How do you think it even got in here?” I asked as we neared it, looking up above it and seeing no direct path of entry, or broken surface big enough above it to explain how it was in here.

“Maybe it was always here?” Cayde cryptically offered.

After we hopped down to a path, Ghost made a funny sound, groaning a little. “Something’s wrong,” he said and Cayde slowed his pace. 

“What is it?” He asked.

“I feel strange,” Ghost admitted. “Like someone or … something is invading my Light.”

Cayde soothingly pet the small leather bag he had draped at his hip. “Stay outta sight, okay, pal?” He asked.

“O-okay,” Ghost managed and Cayde shared a look with me. If this was the same thing that had been in the Black Garden - a piece of the Darkness itself - then it was quite possible it would be able to invade Ghost. Maybe even us.

All I could think of then was what happened with Mindbender and I felt mildly ill but brushed the sensation and thoughts away as best I could. I wouldn’t do Cayde or myself any favors focusing on that. 

More phantoms up ahead caught my eye, this time seven of them, hovering like the others, their red forms surrounded by that same dark vapor. We neared them, slowly, and, as we did, that was when I noticed the did appear to be Guardians. I could make out a couple Titan’s, based on the style of the armor, a Warlock, and a couple Hunters. As soon as we got close enough to really interact in any way, they faded away, one by one, this time both Cayde and I hearing a soft echoing wailing sound, as if they were crying out from somewhere far beyond. 

I didn’t get it. Why were they here? Were they victims of the Darkness? Displayed like trophies to deter us? Or were they just random manifestations?

Once we passed them, we rounded another bend and, about fifty meters ahead, we saw a glowing, shimmering, and shifting ball of red vapor surrounded by a subtle layer of blackness. It had long tendrils reaching out like a series of veins stretching off toward the Pyramid. More phantoms floated haphazardly nearby, as if waiting for us.

“That … thing,” Ghost managed, sounding as if he were trying to speak around a sever headache. “Across the way. What is that?”

“It almost looks like a Blight,” I said, Cayde and I making our way down the uneven rocky slope toward it. The closer we got, more veins appeared, fanning out, the manifestation getting bigger, almost as if it were feeding on something. It suddenly groaned and uttered something in a similar way a Hive Knight would.

“Twenty glimmer says it turns into a Hive,” Cayde told me. I looked at him then made my way closer to it, the frequency of some kind of unsettling hum vibrating in my ears. I winced, hissing, the sound hurting my head a little. 

“There’s some sort of massive energy spike here,” Ghost told us.

As I got closer, it looked like there was something in the center of it, shifting within the red mist. At first it looked like just a shimmer of greenish light but it gradually began taking a shape and it wasn’t long before I realized what it was. 

“Back!” I shouted at Cayde, looking at him over my shoulder as I quickly moved away. “Back up!” 

“Why? What is it?” He asked, even as he did as I told him, his gun remaining leveled on it.

The vapor around us suddenly grew heavy and the red mist shattered, the figure inside bursting out, red at first like a phantom, then becoming alight with an all too familiar blazing green fire.

“Crota?!” Ghost exclaimed. “But he’s dead!”

“Apparently not,” Cayde said, immediately opening fire at him. Crota roared at the attack and slammed the tip of his sword down into the ground, more spiked Thrall appearing, instantly giving chase.

This time, with more light around us, I noticed the Thrall had some kind of black aura around their bodies and I suddenly figured out why Ghost had a hard time reading them earlier. “That’s why their signature was unrecognizable,” I told Ghost as I fired. “You were right. They aren’t Hive. They’re manifestations of the Darkness.”

In the chaos of the rush of Thrall, I lost sight of Crota, giving him a chance to come around a larger boulder to my right, confidently stomping his way toward me. I opened fire, his body jerking with each hit he took but, otherwise, really not doing much and not slowing him at all. After I got a few more shots in, his body transformed, becoming like the phantoms, red with a black outline and veined tendrils surrounding him, pulsing. 

“I don’t recall him doing this in any of your reports,” Cayde said, taking up shooting at him as I reloaded. “My bullets aren’t doing anything now!”

Once I was reloaded, I tried firing myself, only to have my bullets practically bounce off as well. “Crap,” I hissed and, too late, caught a couple Thrall sneaking up on me while I was distracted, both of them managing to lunge and scratch the hell out of my shoulder and sink their claws into my side, cutting me pretty good. I cried out and winced, jumping out of the way, shooting them as I stumbled back down onto my feet. “Damnit! I told Zavala the armor needed reinforcing!” I grabbed at my side, feeling the burning sting the claws had left and the warmth of blood oozing out into the underarmor. Cayde grabbed at my back, yanking me off my feet and out of the way of a couple more Thrall that had climbed a boulder next to me and made to land on top of me. He shot them and I grit my teeth against the pain, pulling out my Delirium, shooting at anything that moved! 

The more we took out, the more appeared, but we seemed to be wearing Crota down little by little so we laid into him as best we could, even dropping him down to one knee, forcing him to use his sword to keep himself upright. 

“Alright! Let’s take this bad boy out!” Cayde nodded, pulling out his rocket launcher.

Suddenly, Crota became surrounded in the red phantasmal aura, the veiny tendrils reaching out from it toward the Pyramid, a bluish light pulsing up his body.

“He’s … regenerating?!” Ghost gasped in disbelief as all the progress Cayde and I had made now became for nothing. 

“What the hell?” Cayde breathed, shaking his head and fired the rocket launcher at him anyway. The air around Crota exploded and I squinted against the bright light, only to see him still standing as it faded, unfazed by the explosion, not a scratch on him. “He can’t do that! Can he do that?!” Cayde asked. 

I shook my head. “He couldn’t before. Not like that.” I followed the tendrils with my eyes and shook my head. “The Pyramid’s healing him.”

Crota roared, standing back up and lifting his sword above his head before slamming it down again, shaking the ground under our feet. Cayde and I both staggering from the force. An explosion of burning red light shattered all around him, two new orbs appearing on either side of him. Tendrils reached out from them, mingling with the ones feeding Crota, growing bigger and longer, pulsing like heartbeats before they shattered as Crota’s had, Ghaul’s and the Fanatic’s full body forms emerging from them. They straightened, Ghaul flexing his arms and letting out a billowing cry as the Fanatic slammed the end of his spear into the ground, fanning his arms out. All three forms now zeroed in on us, glaring at us with clear murderous intent.

I gaped, shaking my head. “What the hell is going on?” I breathed in disbelief, seeing countless Thrall begin to rise up like a tidal wave over the edge of the cliff behind them, rushing straight for us.

“Guys, we can’t win this. We have to go,” Ghost strongly advised. “Right now!”

“Come on!” Cayde said grabbing my arm, spinning me around and practically lifting me off my feet as we ran back toward the way we’d come in as fast as we could.

“Aislin! Cayde! Come … with … me!”

“Eris?!” I looked over at Cayde, curious if he’d heard her, too, but his focus was straight ahead, his pace not slowing even as Eris’s chanting voice began to build all around us, the edge of my vision closing in as it had done once before when she’d pulled me out from deep below the Moon’s surface.

Everything went black.

I nearly fell out of the portal, Cayde’s arm around me the only thing keeping me on my feet. I felt dizzy, the pain in my side and shoulder throbbing and hot. Cayde put his other arm around me and helped ease me down to sit on my knees, crouching beside me as Ghost came out and healed me. 

I took a deep, relieved breath, lifting my hand to pet at Cayde’s arm as I nodded to Ghost, thanking him.

That was when I looked past Ghost, seeing the figure standing with her back to us, gazing out into the deep chasm that held the Pyramid, a red phantom hovering off to her left side. 

“Eris Morn,” I uttered, getting back up to my feet.

Cayde stood with me, looking over at her as I started walking toward her, noticing she still held that strangely glowing Hive rock of hers, the object still encased in the green flame orb, floating between her hands.

“Making friends with the locals?” Cayde asked her, looking up at the phantom as he caught up to me. “Seems like your kinda crowd.” The phantom turned its head, looking at us, the only one we’d seen do that so far.

Eris seemed to ignore Cayde and his jabs, instead addressing me as if he wasn’t even there. “You know the stories of the Traveler’s sacrifice,” she stated, finally looking back at us - at me. “Of Darkness descending upon humanity.” I nodded and she turned her gaze back to the Pyramid. “Before us lies a dark remnant of their existence.” She stepped away from us, nearing the edge of the Keep balcony we’d found ourselves on. “ Was it struck down by the Traveler? Left here on purpose? The truth is ours to discover,” she said, staring at it as if it were some deep obsession.

“Wow, that’s a great idea,” Cayde said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Gee. Why didn’t I thinka that?” He asked, bouncing his fingers off the forehead of his helmet. “Oh! Right! Because I noticed there isn’t exactly a front door we can go walkin’ up to to knock on.”

Eris slowly twisted around, finally acknowledging he was standing there by looking right at him and smirked. “Then we find _another_ way inside.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two just seemed to write and finish itself while I was sitting here, so I decided to go ahead and post it. Enjoy!

“Oh, gee, thank you, Aislin. Thank you, Cayde. I’m so sorry I forgot to mention that I really appreciate you stickin’ your necks out for me in this hellhole. Oh, and please, tell Ikora how _very_ sorry I am for worrying her. Yes, I know I was alive this whole time, and could totally walk out of this particular spot any time I chose, going back to the surface where a fucking signal can get out and back to the Tower. But, y’know, I was just so busy these last few days, standing here, staring off at this literal symbol of death and destruction for all humanity, that I forgot to let key people know WHAT I FOUND!” Cayde seethed from the front seat in the cockpit as he flew us back to Earth.

Ghost curled up his shell a little and eased back closer to me, glancing at me with worry.

I cleared my throat and reached around the seat in front of me, settling my hands on his shoulders, noting how rigid they were. “Firefly,” I softly said, petting them.

He relaxed a little. “Sorry,” he murmured. “I ain’t - I just don’t understand how she can find something like that and not be runnin’ back to the surface or back to Earth, and tellin’ us. But, what’s really got me pissed off - believe it or not - ain’t what she found and not tellin’ us right away, but that she couldn’t have the fucking decency to at least contact Ikora and let her know she was alright, instead-a leavin’ Ikora stayin’ up nights, worryin’ and stressed out. I don’t like Eris. Ain’t no secret. I respect her. I admire her. But I don’t like her. And shit like this is exactly why. I don’t know how Eris feels, but I know she knows Ikora is her friend and cares what happens to her. And to do something like that … ” He slammed the palm of his hand down on the console in frustration.

“Cayde? Sweetheart, I know you’re mad, and I get it,” I gently soothed. I was a bit angry, myself, for the same reasons. “But … I would really feel a lot better if you didn’t slam the console while we’re still out in space. Okay?” I asked, petting his shoulders again. 

“Oh. Shit. Y-yeah. Sorry, baby. Sorry, Little Buddy. I …” He sighed. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I assured him, continuing to pet his shoulders, keeping him calm. 

The rest of the trip home, which was only a few minutes, was silent, save Cayde tapping his fingers against the side of the console, his hands staying away from the buttons until we neared the Hanger to land. 

When we got off the ship, we headed straight for the Vanguard Conference Room. Cayde opened the door and walked in, Ghost and I followed behind him. Zavala had screens up all around himself and Ikora and they were going over the defenses and Guardian numbers. We were still painfully low, very few new Guardians having appeared since the Red War. 

Cayde went over to them, to Ikora specifically, and she looked at him as he approached her. He set his hand on her shoulder and she offered a soft, small smile, giving him an appreciative nod as he nodded back then, without saying a word, he coaxed her into a hug, letting her lean against his chest and close her eyes for a moment. “You sleep tonight, okay?” He murmured to her and she nodded.

“Thank you, my friend,” she murmured back. “I know she can try your -”

“Uh ah,” Cayde shook his head. “We ain’t doin’ that right now. You just … you just get some sleep tonight.”

She nodded and they stayed together for a few more beats as Ghost and I looked on. I felt a smile tug at the corner of my mouth. Even if I couldn’t sense it, I knew there was nothing more than a caring friendship at play here. Cayde was pissed Eris had worried Ikora. Had worried his friend. It would have been one thing if she couldn’t have contacted us, but she could have. Two days ago, she could have easily walked out of there and at least let Ikora know she was alive. But she didn’t. She’d been so focused on the Pyramid. As far as Cayde was concerned, you didn’t treat friends like that. Of course, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if part of the anger was still linked to her not accepting his apology. But I had a theory as to why. And, while I thought it petty on some level on Eris’s part, I could understand it. But trying to explain that theory to Cayde right now would be a bad idea. I’d wait for a more appropriate time, if one presented itself.

“So,” Cayde said, once he and Ikora parted and Ghost and I joined them, looking over the monitors. “How screwed are we?”

Zavala took a deep breath and carefully let it out as he looked over the screens. “The Skyline defenses are up and running as normal. SatFeeds are also fully operational. Most outposts are at maximum capacity, and those that aren’t I’ve ordered all resources and anything else the City can spare to be sent out. All non-essential missions and Strikes have been cut from the lists and … I’ve cut Crucible tournaments for the time being.”

Cayde winced. “How big an earful did you get?”

“I haven’t yet, but I’m certain it’s coming,” Zavala nodded.

“Eris wants to find a way inside that thing,” I told them, slightly changing the subject. “And while I know it’s playing with serious fire, it may be the only way to really find out what we’re dealing with and how to stop it.”

“Reluctantly agreed,” Zavala nodded. “And we’ll discuss that soon enough. In the meantime, Ikora said you encountered things up there you called phantoms?”

“Like somethin’ straight outta those scary stories the kids tell when spooky time rolls around,” Cayde nodded. 

“We think they were generated by whatever’s in that Pyramid. And …” I looked at Cayde then back at Ikora and Zavala, “the strange vapor that surrounded us and allowed the Thrall - or the things we thought were Thrall - to appear out of nowhere, it had the same …” I held my hand up, lightly squeezing at the air as I looked for the right words. “The same consistency and appearance as the Darkness I encountered in the Black Garden.”

Ikora nodded as she looked off in thought, not seeming at all surprised by this, while Zavala balanced himself over the table in front of him, looking down at it as if it held some kind of answer he wished to know. 

“It was pretty clear,” Cayde said, “that whatever this thing is - whatever you wanna call it - it takes forms or at least … it possesses them somehow. Even our Little Buddy here felt it trynna get to him.”

Ikora and Zavala both looked at Ghost then and Ghost bobbed an affirmative. “It was like it was trying to reach inside me and smother my Light.”

“This may pose a significant danger to all three of you if you attempt to enter that Pyramid. If you do and his Light is taken …” Ikora cautioned.

“I’ll die,” Ghost quietly said, shifting back closer to Cayde and I, lowering the sides of his shell.

Ikora’s features saddened as she nodded. 

“And … Cayde and Aislin will be mortal,” Zavala pointed out. 

I didn’t care about being mortal, I just didn’t want anything to happen to Ghost. 

“Hey,” Cayde said to our Little Light, gently lifting the bottom part of his shell as if lifting someone’s chin. “We ain’t gonna let anything happen to you. Okay?”

“I appreciate that, Cayde,” Ghost said, then looked back at me before addressing him again. “But we’re in this together, right? We’re unique in the way we’re joined. If anyone has a chance to find a way in and find answers, it’s us, don’t you think? We need to take that chance. To save humanity. To save everyone.” 

I reached up, cupping Ghost I’m my hands, easing him closer to my face as he turned against my palms. “I am so proud you’re our Ghost, Little Light,” I told him, smiling, the sides of his shell turning up.

“Damn right,” Cayde confirmed, petting the top of Ghost’s shell before the three of us looked over at Ikora and Zavala.

“It’s settled, then,” Ikora nodded glancing over at Zavala who also nodded. 

“In that case,” Zavala said, “go home and get some rest. You’ve done enough for one day and, by the looks of it, we’ve got many sleepless ones ahead of us. We’ll see you back here in the morning for briefing.”

Cayde and I nodded, Cayde turning to head out when I remembered something. “Oh, um, the Queen Of Hearts needs maintenance. We’re going to need another ship until Holliday can get it fixed up.”

“I’ll see to it,” Zavala nodded.

“Thanks, I smiled, then took Cayde’s arm as we headed out, the door in front of us sliding open, Shaxx bursting in and shoving past us, fist raised. “What do you mean the Crucible’s been cancelled?! You can’t cancel the Crucible! I AM THE CRUCIBLE!!”

“I mean … that was just too good!” Cayde snickered, pulling the sheets up to his waist and laying back in the pillows, folding his arms under the back of his head as I came out of the bathroom. 

My hair was damp but brushed and I was wearing just a pair of black underwear. I opened a drawer, looking for a nightshirt - something soothing and comforting to chase away the mood the Moon had left me with. “You mean Shaxx just bursting in like he did?” I asked, smirking. I found one of Cayde’s old, loose and lightweight linen shirts, pulling it on before turning off all the lights, save a small metal flowering tree nightlight sculpture we had set on a small table in the corner by the stairs. 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they were still goin’ at it,” Cayde fondly chuckled.

I crawled up onto the bed and he eased the sheets back for me. I smiled and laid back against his side, pulling them back up over me. He put his arms around me and kissed my shoulder as I pet the back of his forearm and hand, the tip of my middle finger tracing over his wedding ring. 

“You doin’ alright?” He asked.

“I don’t know,” I quietly admitted. “I’ve heard all the stories. Fought back so many dark and terrible things. Gone to places that I constantly revisit in nightmares … And somehow … this is the first time I’ve come back and felt the true weight of the reality of it all settle around me.”

I felt the familiar hard ridges of his face and chin very gently nuzzle just behind my right ear before he gave me another soft kiss. “You know that first phantom we saw in the tunnel?” He quietly murmured. I nodded. “It looked like a Hunter,” he continued. “And … for a very brief moment … I thought … maybe … it was Andal.”

I tuned my head, looking back at him - at his softly glowing optics - and reached back, caressing the side of his face. “So that’s why your mood suddenly changed,” I whispered.

“Well, there was that and … when I suddenly put two and two together … realized what was around us …” He let out a sigh through his nose ridges and kissed my shoulder again before resting his face against it. “You remember that part in my old journal where the other me wrote about being surrounded by … a boiling shadow and how it … consumed me?” He asked, his voice muffled a bit from my shoulder.

I nodded. “Yeah,” I answered. “You think that vapor we encountered was the boiling shadow?”

“Maybe,” he confirmed. 

“When I first read that entry, I thought it was those black pools we see on the floors and walls when we encounter the Taken. But this makes more sense. Especially the part where you said it consumed you. It would fit with how the Heart in the Black Garden possessed those giant Minotaurs, and the feeling Ghost got when we got near it.” 

He nodded. “That’s what I was thinking. And, like you, I don’t really know how to feel right now. Bein’ angry at Eris for bein’ thoughtless aside, I’m feelin’ that same weight you were talkin’ about. Like a bad dream comin’ true.” He took a deep breath, slowly letting it out, the heat of it passing though the thin linen fabric and brushing over my shoulder and back. “Like suddenly the Wilds and beyond just closed in on us. And, even knowing it was eventually going to come back … nothing really prepares you for it.”

“I just don’t want to go in there and lose you or Ghost,” I admitted. “It terrifies me.” I swallowed, feeling my eyes sting and blur a little.

“Hey, c’mere,” he whispered and coaxed me to turn over, cuddling me close, kissing the top of my head as I huddled into his chest. “We ain’t goin’ anywhere,” he vowed. “I mean, you’re the numero uno Guardian. The Young Wolf, the Godslayer, Ms. Strong and Silent. And me, well … I’m me. Enough said,” he told me with a haughtily amused tone, leaving me unable to help laughing. He chuckled, too, giving the top of my head another soft kiss. “Made ya laugh,” he whispered and I slipped my arm around him, hugging him as he rubbed my back. “Nothin’s gonna happen to us, okay?” He told me. “Or Ghost.” 

I lifted my head, looking up into his glowing aqua eyes, seeing the confident resolve there, comforted by it, and nodded. “Okay.”

A shift in the light near the stairs caught my eye and I looked up at the same time Cayde did, both of us seeing Ghost coming over.

“Couldn’t sleep, pal?” Cayde asked him.

Ghost shook himself back and forth. “No,” he admitted and Cayde pet the pillow above my head, inviting him over to join us. He floated over and settled down, wiggling a little until he was comfortable. 

“You worried?” Cayde asked him.

“Yes,” Ghost answered. “But curious as well. Wondering what’s in there. What this thing really is that the stories say has chased the Traveler for eons. And if whatever we discover will be helpful. But, mostly … I don’t want anything to happen to either of you.”

“Hey, we don’t want anything to happen to you, either, Little Light,” I told him. “So we’re going to be real careful and look out for each other, okay?”

“Okay,” he bobbed a nod as best he could against the pillow.

“Try to rest,” I told him, reaching up, softly petting the top of his shell until his eye closed and he lolled to the side, drifting off.

I curled my arm back in between Cayde and I and looked at him, a bit concerned. I’d never known Ghost to not be able to sleep like that or wish to join us because he couldn’t. Cayde just nodded, as if he knew what I was thinking but was reassuring me it would all be okay and held the back of my head as he gave me one more kiss. “Try to get some sleep. I’ll be right here.”

“Ditto, handsome,” I whispered back, tilting my head up to kiss his lips this time, savoring the warm affection before tucking my head back under his chin and letting an uneasy sleep take me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More soon! ❤️


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short but sweet. 🙂

It was around 3am. when I half woke up, rolling over to lay my arm around Cayde only to find his spot empty. I frowned, blindly petting at the pushed back sheets looking for him. When I didn’t find him, I more fully woke up, lifting my head up, looking around. “Cayde?” I sleepily rasped. I looked up at the top of the pillow and noticed Ghost wasn’t there either. That was when I heard quiet talking coming from downstairs so I got up and went to see why they were up.

“So, this you … he must have survived the encounter if he wrote about it after,” Ghost pointed out.

“Mm hmm,” Cayde answered, sounding like he was drinking something in the process of answering then set it down on the table. 

I rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs and looked over to see Cayde sitting on the floor between the couch and the coffee table, his journals spread out over the surface, a couple opened. He had a mug of something he was drinking as he was looking them over with Ghost, who was hovering beside him. A small fire was crackling in the fireplace, the only real light source, save a small light he’d turned on in the kitchen area over the counter.

I smiled, watching the two of them interacting, looking over the pages, Ghost’s shell twitching back and forth with curiosity. 

It wasn’t that Ghost hadn’t known of or read some of Cayde’s journals with me, but this was the first time the two of them were sitting together, talking about the passages, Ghost listening to Cayde’s stories.

“I made a fresh pot of coffee,” Cayde told me, not looking up. Ghost did, though, turning to see me standing there. 

“So you were expecting me to wake up, huh?” I asked, walking over into the kitchen.

“Course. I figured you’d roll over at some point, not find me there, and come down.” He looked over his shoulder at me and smiled.

I smiled back. “We know each other too well,” told him.

“Is that not the point of marriage?” He asked. “Besides the great sex, I mean.”

“Oh, no. I just married you for the great sex,” I joked, nodding as I smirked at him over my shoulder.

“Well I … I can’t say I’m insulted by that,” he admitted, feigning surprise before waggling his eyebrows at me.

I chuckled and grabbed myself a couple cookies, bringing them over with my coffee and sitting down on the couch behind him and Ghost, surveying what they were doing. “So, that journal entry got to you?” I asked him.

“Well, it got me thinkin’ that, if the other me wrote about it in past tense, then he survived the encounter, like Ghost was talkin’ about. Which means, if any of us got taken over by that stuff, then there’s a chance it’s not gonna result in us dying.”

I nodded. That was a promising and relieving thought. Something else occurred to me, then. “I wonder if it remembers you.” He looked back at me over his shoulder, then twisted to look at me better, resting his arm on my knee as Ghost studied me for a moment. “I mean, it was six - seven hundred years ago. And, yeah, you were a different person then. But I’d think something like that, if it is all kind of one entity … maybe it’d remember you. Who you were.”

He nodded and held a finger up to me as he picked up his journal and thumbed through a couple pages before he found what he was looking for and read aloud: “Saturn. No, someplace else. Someplace colder. This moon has been almost completely converted, a sarcophagus of ice and iron. Stone towers rung round with glaciers, rooted deep within a heart of snow. I came here flesh and bone. Gave everything to the ice. Started over. Rebooted.’.” He set the journal back down then looked at me, laying his other hand on top of the arm he had resting on my knee, smiling softly. “If I’m interpreting that right, maybe not in the exact same place we were in but, somewhere on that hunk of ice my body - my original one - is in cryo. We were right there. So close to him. All the answers. Who I was, what I looked like, what happened to me … everything. And there’s a part-a me that’s curious. Not gonna lie. There are some answers I want. Some nightmares I wish I could make go away.” He reached over and set his hand on top of his journal. “The guy in here isn’t that guy on ice. And I’m neither one of them. But I’m the me that’s been here the longest. I’m the me that survived. The me that I really got to know and - and for the most part really like. And, the most important thing is, I’m the me that found you. I’m gonna take what flashes of memories I got and use them as guides, just like I always have. Same with the journals. But, outside-a that … They’re dead, Ais. They’re gone. There’s just me. And I’m more than okay with that. Cause I got you. And I got Ghost, and our friends and this home and life we’ve created together. A great City to look after, endless Wilds to explore and the stars beyond. So I don’t care if it remembers me or not. The me it’d remember isn’t here anyway.”

I smiled and leaned forward, kissing the tip of his horn as I set my coffee cup down then slipped my arms around him. “That’s the first time I heard you give a for sure answer there,” I whispered. “Where there was no doubt in your voice.”

“Heh.” He hugged me back. “Well, I was pretty sure the last time we had a similar talk. But the day I married you, that’s when I _knew_ the answer.” He leaned back a little and smiled at me. “Also, all the weird jitters and extreme ups and downs with my mood bein’ leveled out now and my body not feelin’ all over the place or like I'm an emotional wreck’s helped.”

“Oh, please. You were bawling your eyes out the other night witching that - that movie with the big-headed alien with the glowing finger.”

“It’s true,” Ghost bobbed.

Cayde gasped, looking scandalized and poked me in the shoulder while sticking his tongue out at Ghost. “His name is E.T. and he finally got to go home! It was an emotional moment!”

I laughed. “You are such a softie!”

“Shh! I keep tellin’ ya that’s a secret,” he said and winked at me while stealing a cookie off my plate. 

I picked up my mug, smiling as I sipped my coffee, then cleared my throat, setting the mug back down. “Hey, um … I don’t know if this is a good time or not - and if it isn’t tell me and I’ll just let it go - but … can I ask you something about Eris?”

He twisted back around and nodded. “Shoot.”

I pet the arm he’d placed back on my knee. “After the whole thing with her ship … When you went to apologize?” He nodded. “Can I ask what you said to her?”

“Exactly?” He asked, eyebrows rising. I nodded. “Oh, well that was a couple-a years ago so I don’t remember word for word but, basically I said: ‘Look, sorry for gettin’ your ship blown up and all, but it was the only way to get on the Dreadnaught.’ Then I handed her a wrapped box that had a keycard in it to activate a new ship I found for her so she could load up all her specs an’ make it hers.” He shook his head. “She just looked at the box, frowned at me, and walked away.” I could sense the sting remembering that moment stirred. He’d been pretty hurt. He’d thought he’d been doing something nice and it was like a slap in the face.

I leaned forward and kissed the top of his head along the ridge of his mohawk. “I have a theory as to why she reacted the way she did. Want to hear it?”

“A theory about what makes Creepy tick?” He asked, eyebrows rising again. “Okay, I’m curious.”

I nodded. “Eris … had everything taken from her when she went down into that pit, right? Her friends, her Ghost. Her Light. It was all taken.”

“Yeah,” he nodded.

“And when she finally broke free from that horrible place, that ship was her escape. Something she made hers and got her back home.”

“So … you’re sayin’ … I was treatin’ it too nonchalant?” 

“Sort of,” I nodded. “I know you meant well and genuinely are sorry and feel bad but, for her, I think it’s not just that the ship was important to her, but that you took it without asking. Everything she had before was taken from her. No choice. And then, even if for a very good reason, you took her ship. If you try again … don’t apologize for blowing it up. Apologize for taking it and tell her why you’re sorry for taking it.”

He glanced over at me, seeming a bit skeptical at first, but I could tell he was really thinking it over and, eventually, he nodded. “Thanks, babe,” he softly smiled.

“Eh.” I waved him off. “It would’ve come to you eventually.”

“It’s been a couple-a years,” he pointed out.

“Well … eventually for you can sometimes be … long … long stretches,” I smirked.

He arched an eyebrow at me, then, without warning, attacked my sides, tickling me! I yelped and squeaked, curling up, wriggling! “Stop! You’re gonna make me pee!” I pleaded!

He eased up, laughing. “That’ll teach ya,” he nodded.

“Teach me what? That you had no good come back so all you could do was tickle me?” I asked.

He glared at me and slowly inched his fingers toward my sides again.

“No. Noooo. Cayde. CAYDE!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More soon! ❤️


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this gives away a bit here, but NSFW chapter. Just FYI. 😉
> 
> That being said ... Enjoy!

I felt arms slip under mine from behind, pulling me back against a strong, broad chest, and a careful nuzzle at the back of my head, followed by a kiss. “You forgive me?” Cayde lowly rumbled into my hair, breathing me in.

I smiled. “For what?” I asked, setting my mug in the sink before petting his arms. “The tickling?”

“I didn’t take it too far?” He asked, sounding surprised. “I thought maybe I got a bit carried away.”

I chuckled, turning my head to look back at him as best I could. “No. You made me laugh, like you always do. You cheered me up. I needed it.” I shook my head. “The Moon is …” I sighed, laying my head back on his shoulder. “It’s so beautiful and peaceful. It’s the first place humans stepped when venturing out to the stars. I love it, actually. On the surface. But, as soon as I go underground … that peaceful, beautiful place becomes a haunted tomb. It’s … like it sucks the Light and life right out of you. I feel drained and just … sad.” 

He tilted his head into mine, tightening his arms around me a little and I curled my left hand over his, lacing our fingers together as I kissed the side of his jaw and closed my eyes. “But, you know, you were always on the other end of the comms with me through there. Even when the interference knocked them out, I knew you were still there. Waiting. And that helped. So much. Zavala and Ikora are reassuring in their own ways, yes, but you … you always had a warmth about you that conveyed through your voice. Like … when you talked to me, it was as if you understood how important just hearing a friendly voice was above all else. That, sometimes, you needed to talk about anything but what was going on in that moment.” I opened my eyes and leaned my head back to look at him. “But having you in there with me this last time made it so much easier. And …” I frowned, biting at my bottom lip as I looked off to the side.

“And what, baby?” He softly asked, waiting.

I looked at him again. “I know I can handle quite a bit. All things considered, I can take a lot,” I nodded. “But, yesterday … I’m really glad you were there.”

He smiled a little. “Got a bit scared, huh?”

“I don’t know if it was scared, really. More like … dread,” I admitted. “When I saw that thing. Like a … a terrible sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.”

“I was pickin’ up on it,” he nodded. “Now, me, I was totally scared,” he said.

I glanced at him, arching an eyebrow, only to have him look back at me innocently. “You were not,” I said, trying not to laugh. “Maybe unsettled and worried, but not scared.” I knew he was just trying to make me feel better and it was working.

“Oh? Know me so well?” He affectionately teased.

I finally chuckled. “I do,” I nodded, petting his arm. There had only been a couple times when I’d ever known him to be genuinely scared. Yesterday hadn’t been it. Anxious and worried, definitely. A bit of dread like I’d felt, sure. And definite curiosity. It was the Hunter in him. Even facing something like that, he wanted to know what was inside. But scared? No. He hadn’t been scared. Although … I did wonder … if he had been able to remember what the other him had written in the journal - if he’d been able to remember it first hand - then I wondered if maybe he would have been. 

“Sooooo,” he purred in my ear, giving me another kiss just behind it. “You know me so well …” Another kiss. “What am I thinkin’ right now?”

I closed my eyes to the kisses and grinned, sighing softly. “That we have a couple hours until we need to be in the briefing room and there must be a way to … _fill_ the time,” I coyly purred right back.

He laughed, the sound low and rumbling, vibrating against my back through his chest. I looked over my shoulder at him - looked down at his lips and the way the firelight from the fireplace in the living room cast glowing shadows over the teal metal of his face, accentuating his handsome features. He nuzzled my cheek and I reached up, cupping the back of his head in my hand, drawing him in as I tilted my own head back to match the angle of his.

When our lips met, we both moaned, and I slid my hand down over the side of his face, my fingers tracing along the edge of his jaw. He sighed into my mouth, easing his lips away, pressing the side of his head to mine, gently coaxing me to tilt my head to the side before he started kissing down along my neck. As he did, I felt his arms loosen from around my middle, his hands slowly sliding down my sides to my hips. He squeezed them and I grinned, settling my own hands over his, following them. He lowly chuckled in my ear, his warm palms easing down over my bare thighs, slipping between them. As he pulled them back up, his fingertips teasingly brushed over the soft, satin fabric of my underwear. I let out a shuddering, excited sigh, swelling a little, feeling and hearing him breathe in the subtle perfume still lingering in my hair from the shampoo I’d used earlier. “Is that all it takes?” He rumbled, his voice deeper than usual; heavy and laced with his own excitement. “Just … the barest of touches,” he breathed, then slid his hands back down with mine, touching me again.

I bit at my bottom lip, shuddering. “That’s all it ever takes from you,” I breathed, dropping my head back onto his shoulder, pushing back into him, feeling his forming arousal. He hissed, his chest expanding, then slowly let it out, groaning lowly. “Is that all it takes with you?” I teased back, grinning, turning my head to look at him. 

He looked back at me, his glowing aqua eyes half lidded, the gaze smoldering. I felt his breath hot on my cheek and the side of my neck just before he leaned back in, carefully nipping and licking at the rim of my ear, slowly, carefully beginning to rock his hips into me. “I can’t ever get enough of you,” he rumbled. “All those centuries out there … by myself … I never thought I’d ever feel anything close to what I’ve felt with you.”

His right hand eased up under the front of my shirt, softly caressing along my skin, his touches light and delicate. At the same time, I felt his left hand sliding up my throat, his fingers slowly moving up over my chin and jaw. His index finger traced over my lips and I held his eyes with mine as I licked at it, coaxing him to ease it into my mouth. When he did, I started gently sucking on it, watching his eyes widen a little, his lips part. I smiled, releasing his finger and turned to face him, slowly grinning, feeling a tad predatory, walking him backwards and petting at his chest through his t-shirt as I did. 

When he bumped into the counter behind him, he jumped a little, looking back, then at me again. “Seems the tables’ve turned a bit here,” he chuckled.

I leaned in close, pressing my chest to his as I reached around and massaged his lower back. “That’s what happens when you tease me the way you do,” I breathed against his ear, feeling him shudder so delightfully. “I’ll never get enough of you, Cayde,” I whispered, kissing the tender spot under his jaw where the rigid metal ended and his soft skin began. He groaned, planting his hands back on the edge of the counter, balancing himself as his head lolled back, another happy sigh escaping his lips. I grinned again and kissed my way down his throat, then down over his chest through the thin material, slowly working my way lower and lower. 

He lifted his head back upright and looked down at me, the tip of his tongue lightly touching his upper lip in rapt anticipation. He knew where I was going … 

I looked up at him, smiling and winked at him, then took hold of the sides of his sleep pants and eased them down, softly kissing the tender crease of his physique drawn down from his abdomen where it merged with the crux of his thigh beside his arousal. 

Cayde let out a long, pleasant sigh, trembling fingers sliding through my hair. I glanced up at him again and grinned, nuzzling his quivering heat, kissing it. He moaned and looked down at me again, panting softly. “Like that?” I murmured. He dumbly nodded. “Want more?” I asked, grinning even wider.

“Oh yeah,” he barely managed and I very slowly licked my lips, keeping my eyes on his as I reached up, gently holding his throbbing erection against my cheek, nuzzling it and brushing wet lips along the length before kissing it again.

He twitched and groaned. “Ais …”

“I love seeing you like this, you know that?” I purred, sliding my middle finger and thumb up and down, from hilt to tip. “Completely at my mercy,” I breathed, then took him in my hand and slowly licked up the entire length of the underside of his erection with the tip of my tongue before gently sucking on the tip, tasting his own subtle and unique wetness there. 

“Oh fu - Ais …” he groaned, head dropping all the way forward, hands clenching at the edge of the counter as he seemed to be trying to stop himself from thrusting his hips.

I grinned again then took him into my mouth, slowly bobbing my head as I fondled his testicles, raking the fingernails of my other hand over his bare asscheek. I heard a light bang and looked up, seeing he’d slammed his hand up into the cabinet above, holding onto the handle as he arched back, gasping, unable to help pushing his hips forward wantonly. I smiled to myself and closed my eyes, holding onto his hips, squeezing and massaging them as I savored the way he tasted and felt in my mouth, listening to his needy moans.

Eventually, I felt him pushing on my shoulder, urgently uttering my name. I paused, looking up at him again. He was panting, his eyes even more on fire than before. He coaxed me away and up to my feet, drawing me close for another kiss, his tongue darting out, brushing over my lips. I moaned, draping an arm around the back of his neck as I caressed his cheek, kissing him back with just as much passion and need, feeling him shifting from side to side against me. He broke the kiss, kicking his pants away, his cheek plates lifting in that way that told me he was grinning. I grinned back and he kissed me again. 

Next thing I knew, I was laying on the rug and Cayde had my shirt unbuttoned. He was propped up, partially leaning over me, my head pillowed on his arm as he brushed his lips along my cheek. I looked up at him, lifting my hands to his face, tenderly caressing it. He smiled at me and I felt his free hand slip into my underwear, his middle finger easing down between my folds. I gasped, shuddering at the familiar, sensual touch, pushing up into it. 

“Oh - ho … I did get you all wet, didn’t I?” He rumbled with elation, gently circling his finger over my clit, adding just a bit of pressure.

“You always do,” I stammered, barely able to speak, it felt so nice. My eyes rolled back and I arched a little, swelling even more, thrusting my hips to the rhythm of his movements. I felt the subtle tingle of pride about him, his lips on me again, kissing the side of my neck, very slowly moving down to my chest, taking his time to tend to each breast, his finger never pausing in its careful ministrations, leaving me writhing and begging for him!

Dazed and nearly breathless, my cheeks warm, I felt him sit up and ease my underwear off. When I looked up at him, he was sitting on his knees between my legs, twirling my underwear on his finger, a sly look about him. I smirked and beckoningly curled my finger at him. He seemed to grin and let my underwear fly off to who knew where. I laughed at the playfulness and watched as he leaned over me and slowly crawled up over my body, making adorable little purring sounds. I laughed again, enamored with him, gazing up at every last perfect curve and sharp angle of the handsome face that was hovering above me. He let out a low cooing sound, brushing his lips against mine, a coy look in his eyes as he backed away a little before I could kiss him back, waggling his eyebrows and petting my sides. “Tease," I purred, grinning, reaching up to bop his horn.

I chuckled and I grabbed at the front of his shirt, pulling him down, forcefully capturing his lips with mine. We both moaned in reverent satisfaction and I blindly tugged at the hem of his shirt, lifting it up over his back, wanting him to be rid of it and feel the warmth of his body against mine. He shifted for me, letting me pull it off, tossing it aside once I did.

“Better?” He asked.

“Much,” I nodded, caressing his torso, tracing the shimmering teal patterns. I kissed him again, both of us sighing as he settled between my legs, our bare chests pressing together. His arms were suddenly around me, holding me and caressing me as if he were afraid he’d never be able to touch me again. It was heated and aggressive, yet carefully gentle. Passionate. When I felt him thrust forward into me, I gasped, softly crying out, and tensed around him, not realizing how badly I’d wanted him! I actually whimpered his name pleadingly.

Warm, hungry kisses cascaded over the side of my neck before I heard him groan and felt him press his cheek to mine, beginning to rock his hips. I slid my arms under his, curling my hands around the backs of his shoulders, lovingly holding him, rocking with him, both of us softly panting, his breath hot against my ear. “Cayde …”

He growled and sat up, pulling me with him, sitting back on his knees. As he braced himself, holding onto the counter beside us with his right hand, he rolled his hips under me, lifting me to his rhythmic thrusting, his left hand at my back, slid under my shirt, his fingers trailing up and down my spine. I arched at the tender touch and ground my hips down into him, riding him with fervent vigor, pawing at his chest. His body undulated under me, holding an air of strength and power, his eyes almost fierce in the way he stared at me. 

I loved that look - loved that it was for me alone - and I stared right back, panting heavily, tracing the shape of his lips with the tips of my fingers. He opened his mouth, his tongue easing out to lick at them. My eyelids fluttered closed and I felt him draw my fingers into his mouth, lapping and sucking at them. It wasn’t the same way a human or Awoken would do it, but it was still sexy as hell! I moaned his name again and he sat up a bit straighter, letting go of the counter to wrap both arms around me. When I eased my fingers away from his mouth, he kissed me again, whispering my name almost pleadingly as he did, laying us back down onto the rug. I smiled against his lips and wrapped my legs around his waist, circling my wet fingers over the port on the back of his head. He softly gasped and shuddered, beginning to rock his hips faster and harder. 

“That’s it. Let go,” I panted. “Please let go,” I begged. 

He grunted and pushed himself up onto his hands and started pounding into me with wild abandon, eyes closed, head thrown back and mouth open as he panted hard and fast, the orange light of his mouth flickering with excitement! “You feel so damn good!” He groaned. I gripped his arms, squeezing, holding on tight as my insides coiled and tensed from the building pleasure, closer and closer until both of us suddenly cried out! I pushed up into him as he curled into me, pressing his forehead to mine, whimpering, his hips gradually slowing, both of us riding out the mutual orgasm and holding onto each other tight as the warm, electric tingles washed over and through us.

“How in the world did you go for actual _centuries_ without having slept with anyone?” I softly asked. We’d moved to the couch and I was laying back against him, his arm draped over my side, my head pillowed on his other. I felt him kiss the back of my head. “Was it really all faithfulness that stopped you?” I gently asked.

“Eh,” Cayde shrugged. “Maybe … eighty percent, I’d say,” he quietly replied, nodding.

I twisted around onto my back to look at him. “And the other twenty?” 

He looked at me for a few moments, his eyes a bit sad before I actually sensed it. “Insecurity,” he confessed, looking down at my stomach, beginning to idly caress it. “Fear, mostly, if I’m bein’ totally honest. I didn’t … You know how things gotta have meaning for me. And I know how I act. Know that women have … looked at me and liked me in the moment but … that deep down stuff?” He shook his head. “I was afraid if they really got to know me, they wouldn’t like me anymore. I can take a lot but …” He shook his head again. “Not a broken heart. Call me really old fashioned but I didn’t want to just sleep with someone and have it not mean anything. And I was afraid, if I did, and fell in love, and they ended up hurting me … I’d turn into that guy I was tryin’ so hard not to be. That guy I was afraid was lurkin’ somewhere in my past. In the shadows. That’s why I just … stuck with my Queen and let her keep me on the good side.”

I reached up, softly stroking his cheek. “You know I’d never hurt you, right?” I asked him. I knew I didn’t really need to but it still seemed like it was right to reassure him anyway.

“Of course I do,” he nodded, laying his hand atop mine. “You proved that to me time and time again, Ais. I’m never worried about that with you. Hell, you’re the one and only person I know I could literally hand my actual heart to and know it would be safe forever.”

“I hope you know the feeling’s the same, Firefly,” I softly told him.

He smiled and laid his head back down next to mine, snuggling up against me a little tighter. “I got real damn lucky for once.”

“So did I,” I smiled, too, tilting my head into his.

“I got luckier,” he countered and I chuckled, kissing his forehead.

We laid together in peaceful and comfortable silence for a while longer. I would have thought Cayde had drifted off had it not been for the low thrum I sensed from him. A mild twinge of apprehension. I tilted my head, glancing down at his face, seeing his eyes were open but half-lidded, his gaze across the way. I followed it and saw he was staring at Sundance’s urn.

Two days. In two days it would be one year since the prison. It was hard to believe it had already been so long. It didn’t seem like it. I’d only spoken to him once about it and it was a couple weeks ago. Wondered if there was anything he’d wanted to do or not do. He’d shrugged and replied: “Get drunk and tell old stories?” He’d said it in a way that sounded like he was making a carefree joke but, under it all, I think he was being serious. I didn’t push it, though. Even now, it was still a very painful spot. I’d already had something in mind but this whole thing with the Hive, the Pyramid, the Moon … Eris … As usual, being a Guardian meant other things came before personal needs. Still, I was going to find a way to do something nice to help him through it. No matter what, Ghost and I would be there for whatever he needed.

“If I didn’t know you, I’d guess you were a Warlock,” Cayde murmured.

I blinked. “Huh?” I asked.

He softly chuckled. “You got that look on your face like Ikora gets when she goes off someplace in her head. Not brooding like a typical Titan - like Zavala. You do it like a Warlock.”

I smiled. “And what exactly is it that’s different in the way a Warlock looks as opposed to a Titan?” I asked.

“A Titan looks like they’re contemplating the weight of the world. A Warlock looks like they’re searching the stars.”

I smiled again, lightly caressing his bare shoulder. “And what about a Hunter? What does a Hunter look like when they’re thinking?”

He lifted his head, eyebrows raised up at me in feigned shock. “You think we think?!”

I playfully shoved him into the back of the couch, both of us laughing!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More soon! ❤️


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. Real life got in the way. This chapter isn't a huge one. More like a little in between piece. As I was working on the full chapter I realized this part combined with the next part didn't fit right. It felt like this part needed to stand alone. So here you go!

“What are you doing?” I asked Cayde as I finished clipping on my boots, noticing he was leaning up against the wall, looking into the kitchen.

He looked back at me and smirked. “Realizing, we have company over and they go into the kitchen, they’re gonna be standin’ on where we did it.”

I laughed, shaking my head, going over to him. “You’re such a boy,” I told him, reaching up, affectionately brushing a little powdered sugar off his chin from the donut he’d had for breakfast.

“Mmm,” he rumbled, turning all the way around, slipping his arms around me as best he could with my armor. “But you were thinkin’ the same thing, weren’t ya?” He asked, waggling his eyebrows at me. “Come on. Admit it,” he said, making me laugh. He bumped himself against me. ”Admit it. Admit it, admit it, admit it!” 

I laughed harder. “You always get goofy like this after,” I told him, not admitting it, but it was true. We both knew it. He and I shared that same childish train of thought every now and again.

“Of course! You, beautiful, made me feel _so_ damn good, as always,” he said, giving me a kiss. 

I smiled against his lips and looked at him before resting my forehead against his. “You made _me_ feel so damn good, as always,” I nodded, tugging at the clips holding his cloak on. “And I think we both really needed that last night,” I murmured.

“Chased away all the icky feelings … brought on all the ooohy feelings,” he murmured, a grin in his voice as he giddily swayed us.

“Is that what they are? Ooohy feelings?” I snickered.

“Ooohy. Very ooohy,” he nodded dancing a bit with me as I laughed again.

“So, Mr. Ooohy, you ready to go back to the Moon?” I asked, petting his chest.

“I am if you are, Mrs. Ooohy,” he purred back, slowing the little dance, his smile broadening.

I grinned and kissed him once more then turned, playfully tugging him along by his scarf.

***

As I headed for the Hanger, my arms full with a couple stacked medium-sized cargo crates of ammo to load onto our ship, a strange, slightly uneasy feeling started to tingle the very edge of my senses. I slowed in my walking, frowning and peeked around the crates I was carrying, looking down the steps and off to the side where Cayde’s work area was. I saw him standing at his bench, looking something over, three other Hunters standing at his back. There was one at the front of the small group, the other two standing behind him, and he was leaning back a bit smugly, arms crossed over his chest as he spoke. I sensed uneasiness with a mild twinge of hurt and guilt radiating around Cayde, the feelings slowly growing before gradually shifting to impatient anger. He hunched over his workbench more and more. I couldn’t really make out everything that was being said by the other Hunters but I did manage to hear the Hunter at the front of the group mutter something about needing a ‘proper Hunter Vanguard’ and ‘not this joke’. My eyes narrowed and I gripped the bottom of the crate I was holding tight enough I was sure I’d dented it a little.

As the three of them turned away from Cayde, I quickly backed up before they saw me, all of them heading my way. I could hear them chuckling to each other and muttering how it wasn’t right they needed to go see a ‘brainless Frame’ for their scouting reports, one of them saying that they should file a complaint to be brought up at the next Consensus meeting. Just as they started walking up the steps, I walked forward as if I was in a hurry, and slammed into them, hard. The Hunter in the front was apparently totally caught off guard and fell back into the other two, all three of them clamoring backwards down the steps and landing in a heap one on top of the other. The sound was loud, and I knew Cayde must have heard it, along with most others in the Hanger.

“Oh! Geez! I’m so sorry!” I said, looking around the crates. “I didn’t see you all there! Are you alright? Here, let me-” I leaned forward to ‘help’, letting the top crate of heavy ammo slip off the other one and land right on top of the head of the apparent leader of the Hunter group. It banged against his helmet with a hard, almost sickening thud and I was sure, if his head wasn’t hurt, his neck likely felt it!

The Hunter grabbed at the sides of his helmet and groaned, the crate bouncing off the butt of one of his companions before it thunked to the mental floor. “Oh! Damnit! I am really sorry!” I stammered again, then dropped the other crate I had onto the leg of one of the other Hunters in an attempt to pick up the one that had slid off. The Hunter yelped and bucked under the others, slamming his fist down in pain, the heavy weight of the crate likely nearly breaking his calf. 

I hissed, wincing, and made to pick it back up before the one I’d hit in the head shoved the crate off his friend before I could get it, then pushed me away. “Don’t help!” He barked and he and the other two stiffly got up, each of them rubbing at sore and bruised spots. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going?!” He asked. 

“I-I’m sorry!” I told them, holding my hands up innocently. “The crates blocked my view.”

“Well then don’t carry that much, you dumb crayon-eating Titan!” He hissed at me.

I would admit, I was taken aback by the response. I expected them to be angry, sure, but I hadn’t expected such a biting and nasty response! I narrowed my eyes at him, Ghost appearing over my shoulder, scrunching up his shell a little, as if glaring back at the Hunter as well. “You know,” I lowly said, “I may have been a bit clumsy here, but you ever talk to me or _anyone_ else like that again, I’ll shove those crayons up your ass,” I told him, noticing Cayde out the corner of my eye, stopping part way to coming over. “It was an accident,” I continued. “Now, you got a problem with that, I will be _more_ than happy to walk with you all to talk to Zavala about it,” I said, stepping to the side and giving a slight courteous little bow, holding my arm out in the direction of the Courtyard. “Or, I can always meet you in the Crucible when it opens up again,” I offered.

The Hunter seemed about ready to accept the open invitation when one of the others tugged on his shoulder. “Dude,” he urgently whispered. “That’s The Godslayer,” he told him. 

The leader glanced back at his friend, then over at Cayde who was standing nearby, his expression unreadable. I was partly kicking myself for being so impulsive. I’d resisted saying or doing anything in the past, not wanting to make anything worse, but I just couldn’t take their shit toward Cayde anymore. I could sense what he was feeling and it was clear what they were saying to him had hit a nerve. Whatever their problem was, it ended now. 

The Hunter finally turned his attention back to me and looked me up and down, before his body shifted as if offering me a hesitant challenging glare from behind the helmet. After a few tense moments, though, his body relaxed, apparently realizing complaining to Zavala wouldn’t get them anywhere and sparing with me in the Crucible might not be too wise, either. Finally, he motioned for the other two to let it go, all three brushing past me in the rudest, most haughty manner they could muster, the last one in line slightly limping from the crate drop. 

Ghost bounced a little, as if silently saying: ‘That taught them!’. I shook my head and turned to pick the crates up, noticing not just Cayde but everyone in the immediate area had stopped what they were doing and were staring at me, Amanda included. “What?” I asked all of them. “You all never seen someone bump into anybody else before?” I asked and they all kind of looked at each other before hesitantly getting back to whatever they were doing. As I picked up the crates, I noticed Amanda look between Cayde and I, then go back to Cayde’s ship, resuming her work on the engine.

I carried the crates over to where the rest of our supplies were gathered for the Frames to load and set them down with a hefty thud. “Well, they may be slightly rattled around, but got the ammo,” I said, straightening, looking over at Cayde. He was standing there, arms now crossed over his chest, looking at the crates, then at me, a mildly stern yet contemplative look on his face. “What?” I asked.

He arched an eyebrow then shook his head. “Nothin’. You alright?”

I noticed Ghost tilt his shell to look at me, then back at Cayde. “Me? Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” I assured, waving things off. “Those guys are going to be a little sore, though,” I added, motioning over my shoulder.

“Mm hmm,” he nodded.

I pointed to the workbench. “What’s all that?” I asked, seeing papers strewn out all over the surface. 

He looked behind himself. “Maps I drew out a long time ago. For the Moon. Thought we might need ‘em.”

“You mean, of all the Lost Sectors you explored and the early Guardian camps set up in the old Lunar Colony bases?” I grinned, walking over to look at them, Ghost following. I loved Cayde’s maps! They were more than just maps. He had an artistic eye and the maps themselves were like whole other lands to explore, just with your eyes!

He chuckled, his demeanor and mood lifting, and followed us over to the bench as we looked at the splayed out maps, the curling edges held down with random nick-knacks he’d had on his bench. “Wow,” I breathed, looking over the intricately detailed, hand drawn topography, pathways, location markers, and carefully color coded Lost Sector tunnels, some marked with warnings. “What are the warnings for?” I asked, pointing to one.

“Oh. Those are parts of the tunnels I noticed didn’t look all that stable. And, with all the activity goin’ on up there, one little quake and it could come down on ya. Best not to go into any of those and stick with the main tunnels,” he explained.

I shook my head. “I had no idea you knew that kind of stuff,” I said. “Like, spelunking.”

He huffed a bit of a chuckle. “Let’s just say, the skill didn’t come without a lot of painful and well learned lessons. It’s a good thing I’m an Exo or I woulda suffocated and had to get rezzed over and over.”

“You got stuck in some?” I asked, eyebrows rising in surprise.

“Oh yeah,” he nodded. “And there weren’t no City or Vanguard back then that I could call to for help, either. Or even many people - Guardians or civilians - who had ships, let alone ones that could break orbit, forget about gettin’ to the Moon. Had to dig my way out by hand and grenade and, trust me, diggin’ out that way, when you got tons of Moon rock on your head, that takes time.”

“How long?” Ghost curiously asked. 

“Uuuuh … Think it was two weeks? Somethin’ like that.”

I gaped at him, shocked at the idea of that, Ghost sputtering. “Two _weeks_? You were stuck, _buried_ , for two weeks?!” He asked. 

Cayde nodded.

“Shit,” I uttered.

Cayde chuckled again. “It was centuries ago, guys. Good thing I ain’t claustrophobic, though. Plus, Sundance was there. We kept each other entertained and from goin’ crazy.”

“You mean crazy-ER,” Ghost teased. 

“Oh, ha, ha, ha, you’re funny,” Cayde replied, poking him. “Better watch out, or I’ll show you real crazy.”

Ghost turned to look at me. “I am concerned for you,” he flatly stated, making me chuckle.

“Well, for what it’s worth, thank you,” I told Cayde.

“For getting stuck?” He asked, eyebrows rising. “Or for bein’ crazy? Cause, uh, I know you like my crazy.” He waggled his eyebrows at me.

“No,” I giggled. “For paving the way. But … yes to that other thing.”

He smirked and leaned over, kissing my cheek. “I know,” he softly said.

“Master Cayde?” A robotic voice chimed, and we both turned, seeing a couple Frames standing near the supplies. “Awaiting supply instructions.”

“Yeah, load it up on that one,” Cayde said, pointing to the deep cobalt blue and black Hawk-class ship Zavala and Amanda had arranged for us while Cayde’s was being worked on.

“Confirmed,” the three Frames stated in unison, then went to work picking up all the items and carrying them over.

Cayde looked back at me, somehow making a light tongue-smacking sound, despite not using his tongue to do it. “So …” he slowly enunciated, and I looked at him, seeing a contemplative yet oddly sage look pass over his features.

“You know the answer,” I softly said, knowing exactly what he was about to ask. He nodded. “And,” I sighed. “I’m sorry. I tried. I tried to stay out of it and let you handle it. I know you can. And I didn’t want to make it worse or give them something more to go at you with. But … I just couldn’t let them talk to you or about you that way. You don’t deserve it. And I am saying that from a biased point of view, yeah. But it’s true, none-the-less. I’ve got your back, always,” I told him, reaching up, petting his chest. “Even against fellow Hunters who are total assholes.”

He looked at me for a few beats then nodded before he took my hands and lifted them to his lips, kissing the backs of them, and gently tugged me over to the ship, leading me up the ramp onto it. “Have a seat,” he said, motioning to the main pilots chair. I sat as he took the seat next to mine, turning it to face me, Ghost hovering next to us. Cayde looked from side to side, his gaze settled on the console as he seemed to ponder something, then cleared his throat and leaned forward toward me, resting his elbows on his knees. “The first time you asked me about them, I didn’t know what their deal was. But, not too long after that, they said something pretty obvious that clued me in.”

“What was that?” I asked, leaning forward, too, so I was closer to him.

He ruefully smirked and shook his head, looking up as if marveling at the ridiculousness of it all. “They said I didn’t deserve to wear his cloak … since I was the reason he was d - … dead.”

I felt a sick feeling rise up into my throat. “What?” I uttered in complete disbelief, tilting my head at him.

“That’s bullshit,” Ghost flat out stated, Cayde looking over at him, arching an eyebrow. It was very rare Ghost swore, especially in anger. “You didn’t - ”

“I didn’t what?” Cayde challenged, a mild bite to his tone, cutting Ghost off. Ghost recoiled a little, taken aback by the unusual harsh tone in Cayde’s voice. “You weren’t there,” Cayde continued, shaking his head before bowing it. “And neither was I,” he muttered then sighed, deflating some. “Toppa that, I was so cocky, thought I actually killed that regeneratin’ bastard so easy. If I’d just …” He looked down at his empty hands, curling them closed and sighed again, then looked up at Ghost. “Sorry, Little Buddy. I didn’t mean to snap at ya.”

“It’s a … touchy subject,” Ghost bobbed. “I understand.” He floated down and lightly pressed himself to the side of Cayde’s hood as if giving him a gentle hug. Cayde blindly reached up and pet him. 

A light smile tugged at the corner of my lips. 

In the last few months, Cayde’s emotions had fully evened out and he finally seemed to be fully back to the way he’d been before that terrible day at the prison. There were times I’d thought he was back to his old self before now but they’d been sort of false assumptions. The seeming even keel only temporary, as if his body and mind were testing each other out with new calibrations. But, what had convinced me that this time they’d finally found balance and he was back to his true old self was when Ghost mentioned feeling the neurolink between them had grown stronger and then finally connected like he’d felt with me when he’d brought me back for the first time. Ghost was now able to sense Cayde clearly and be in sync with him fluidly, just as any Ghost tended to be with their Guardian. It made me very happy because, while I knew no one and nothing would ever replace or take that special spot in Cayde’s heart for Sundance, there was some element to that hollowness and aching echo left behind from her death that was greatly eased, allowing him to properly move on. I wasn’t exactly sure why the full connection hadn’t happened that day on Io, when he got his Light back, but talking with Ikora about it, we’d surmised that it had to have been the imbalance between his mind and his body as it was readjusting and figuring out the changes, coupled with dealing with a traumatic event. His mind had likely refused a full link, unconsciously attempting to protect Cayde from more trauma.

“I know I’m ruggedly handsome and all, but you keep staring at me like that we’re gonna hafta close up the ship and test out the new bunk and that’s gonna make us late, which is gonna make Zavala grumpy and yell at us and me, bein’ the totally responsible one here, would hate to ruin my reputation,” Cayde nodded.

I blinked at him. “What?” I asked, completely lost.

He chuckled. “Babe, you were lost in wherever it is you go, starin’ at me with a smile I can only describe as kissable.”

“I was?” I asked, now smiling even more, charmed. “I’m sorry. I …” I blindly gestured off somewhere.

“Yeah, I know,” he nodded and slid off his chair, clunkingly knee-walking over to me, his tick kneepads clumping against the metal flooring of the hull until he was between my legs, elbows on the armrests, chin resting against the backs of his folded hands, smirking at me. 

“How are you so cute?” I asked, trailing the backs of my fingers down the side of his metallic cheek.

“It’s a curse,” he lamentingly sighed. “I pissed of the Handsome Gods and they made an example outta me. Now I must forever roam all creation knowing what a burden it is to be this good looking.”

I chuckled. “Is that right?” I grinned.

“Mmm hmm,” he replied, giving a definitive nod then pushed himself up a little, giving me a kiss. 

“Lucky me,” I murmured.

“Hey, I gave ya the out before tyin’ the knot. You didn’t take it. Now you’re stuck,” shrugged.

I laughed and slipped my arms around him, resting my forehead to his. “You okay?” 

“Yeah,” he nodded. “And thank you, by the way,” he whispered. “For earlier. I ain’t mad. In fact, it felt pretty good to see karma come around and give them all a swift boot. And a crate to the head.”

I smirked. “You’re welcome,” I whispered back.

“I just got one question for ya,” he said.

“And what’s that?” I quietly asked.

“Do red crayons really taste like cherry or is it more a mixed berry flavor cause you got so many different red fruits?”

“I’m tossing you out the airlock soon as we break orbit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope to have more out soon! 😃 ❤️


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter six! We take a little trip back in time in this one as well as delve into a little kink Ais learns Cayde likes! 😉 Enjoy!

_**Three months ago …** _

“You know, even though no one’s here now, it still feels like there’s life all around this place,” I softly said as I stared up at the chipped and worn yet still vibrant colors of the hand done murals and the tattered and age-faded flags and ribbons adorning the ceiling and walls of the Monastery. The more Cayde and I had explored, the more curious I grew about this place where he had woken a Guardian so long ago. You could even see parts of the Monastery where, after the Collapse, it appeared survivors had come back and attempted to care for the place and make it a refuge for those who’d needed it. I’d wondered if Cayde had died here the first time because he was among a group of people who had fled here for safety in the midst of the Collapse itself. Maybe he’d been trying to protect them? It would be his nature. 

“There is a magic about this place,” I heard him murmur in reply as he leaned back against a raised wooden platform behind us, draping his arms back over it, looking up and around. I scooted back and leaned into his side, resting my head on his shoulder as I followed his gaze around the interior. 

“I can smell the incense still in the wood,” I quietly added, noting the slightly sweet, spicy, and smoky scent that was a mix of many different kinds of incense that had been burned over the years, the smoke and oil gradually seeping into the sealer and fibers of the wood creating something totally unique. 

I felt Cayde’s arm go around me, giving me a light squeeze, his thumb idly rubbing my upper arm. “Smells really pretty, doesn’t it?” He he asked.

“It’s a beautiful place,” I nodded.

“Y’know, this is where all the Monks would come to chant and pray?” He asked me. “These boxes here behind us and those over there,” he said, pointing to the others around the room. “Before age and elements got to it, the wood was all beautifully carved and stained. Well cared for. On top of ‘em, there were red velvet cushions the Monks would sit on. They’d all gather in here, light candles and incense, and pray to their gods.”

I tilted my head up to look at the side of his face. “Did a little research into this place, huh?” I smiled.

He nodded. “When I woke up, the people I lived with in the village in the valley told me stories of this place. Some of them were great grandchildren of the survivors from this area. Some even still came up here to pray, themselves, and give offerings, hoping for protection from Fallen, good harvests for the winter, or just …. looking for some guidance.”

“Did you ever come back up here and do that?” I asked, curious.

He was quiet for a few beats, then nodded a little. “Couple times. I didn’t really believe there was anything that heard me - y’know, not like the people did. But …” He looked up at the murals around us. “I knew I had to have come back from somewhere. That there must’ve been something - someplace I went to when I died the first time. I wasn’t … I wasn’t so much praying as I was just … contemplating. Tryna make sense of it all. Tryna get some bearings and answers.”

“Answers to what?” I softly asked, rubbing his chest. Cayde rarely spoke of this sort of thing so, when he did, I really listened. Listened to what he was saying between the words. Not just because I loved him and wanted to know him even better than I already did but because, believe it or not, he was still that guide and mentor to me in a way. Someone I had always and would always look up to.

“Why,” he said, looking at me, taking a breath, slowly letting it out. “Of all the shady, selfish, screw up idiots to drag back, why me?” He said.

I opened my mouth to protest the self-degrading comments but knew the protests would fall on deaf ears and, really, as well as I did know him and the man he’d been through the journal writings … no one knew Cayde and had pondered and scrutinized the man he’d been - and the other versions of himself - better than he did. It wouldn’t be insulting, but it would be arrogant of me to assume I knew him better than he knew himself. Or any of the other hims he’d been. 

His soft chuckle pulled me out of my musing. “Always so quick to defend me, even from myself, hm?” He asked me.

I smiled back. “Can you blame me?”

He kissed my forehead. “No. I’d do the same if the shoe was on the other foot.”

I settled my head back on his shoulder. “I ask no one in particular the same questions, even now,” I told him, nodding. “And then it makes me think about other Guardians that were brought back. The good ones … and the bad ones. But, especially the bad ones. Or ones that easily went bad. Sometimes it seems like we were all chosen just by chance. Random rolls of the dice. But I remember Ghost once told me that it took a very long time for him to find me. He was searching. Specifically for _me_. All the Ghosts had specific people they needed to find. Some are still searching. And I wonder why. If it’s not random, what is it about all of us that made us the chosen ones?”

I felt him nod. “I wonder that same thing, too,” he admitted. “Especially now. That we’re bonded. It’s one thing to have fallen in love and got married. But we actually joined our Light. We can mold it and use each others specific class powers. And we can mix it so we can wield different forms. Things I ain’t never heard of or seen others do before. As cool as it is, it scares me to think about,” he murmured. “Like … that it means …”

I nodded. “That it means we are meant to do something special with it. And that that special might mean we die in the end. For a final time.”

“Yeah,” he quietly uttered. “But it ain’t death I’m worried about.”

“I know.” I kissed his shoulder and snuggled closer, slipping both arms around him. “Our Light’s bound to each others, though. Where you go, I go. And Ghost. We’re in this together. And I promise I won’t let go. No matter what gets thrown our way, we never let go of each other.”

He put his other arm around me, too, giving me a squeeze as I felt him gently press his lips to my head, partly kissing me, partly just pressing as close as he could, breathing me in. “Never,” he whispered.

We sat like that for a little while, before I felt his body jerk with a light chuckle. “How’d we get so serious and morbid alluva sudden?” He asked. “Ain’t like we never talked about this stuff before.”

“Yeah. I think it’s that we just got married last night so emotions are still high, we’re going on little sleep … probably still a bit drunk.”

He chuckled again. “Speak for yourself. Only thing still got me buzzin’ is remembering what you did with that nimble finger of yours.”

I grinned. “You really liked that, huh?” I asked as if I didn’t know.

“Oh yeah,” he shuddered, emphatically nodding.

I couldn’t help chuckling a little. “Part of me always wondered if you’d be into that. I just never worked up the courage to ask.”

“Really?” He sounded quite surprised. “How come?”

I shrugged. “I wasn’t sure if it’d be your thing. Didn’t want to freak you out.”

He smirked. “You really think, in all the centuries of blissful alone time I’ve had, I wouldn’t’ve at least tried it?”

I looked up at him as I sat up a little. “I figured maybe you did. You are the adventurous type,” I grinned again as he chuckled. “But it wasn’t that, it was … not knowing if you liked that sort of thing and if you’d be okay with someone else taking control there.” 

“Ah,” he nodded. “I think you got your answer, though, hm?” He smirked, waggling his eyebrows.

“I did,” I nodded, giggling a little as I recalled the way he’d thrashed on the bed, bucking his hips and moaning. 

It had all been sort of an accident, really. I hadn’t been looking to do it, even if I had been curious about it for quite a while. It had just been a light brush with my fingers while fondling him amid a series of passionate kisses. He’d let out a soft, surprised gasp and looked up at me curiously, as if he were silently asking me if I’d really want to, which, of course, I did. 

It had felt like a first time again. My fingers tingled delicately from the warming sensation of the lubricant, only the middle one inside him, curling carefully to find that magic spot as I’d moved my hand in a slow, sensual rhythm. He’d let out wonderfully soft, shuddering sighs and needy whimpers, his thighs trembling a little as he pushed against the mattress with his feet, rocking his hips and holding onto me, his face pressed to the side of my neck, his hot breath making goosebumps rise all over my body. I’d held him close, my free arm curled around his shoulders, cradling him. It was exquisitely intimate in a whole new way I hadn’t yet shared with him and it wasn’t so much what I was doing as the reaction I was witnessing. As he got more excited, his head had dropped back away from me, his eyes fluttering closed, his mouth opening. He’d moaned, tossing his head from side to side, and I’d found myself more enthralled than excited. I’d just wanted to watch him. To watch the emotions pass over his features, to listen to the tones of his voice change as I gave him pleasure, the orange light of his mouth flickering like wildfire. I’d wanted to let that trust and vulnerability wash over me, knowing there was no one else who he would ever let see this, or know this side of him. That it was for me alone. 

And, oh, how beautiful he’d been. How pure in his own right. There was no Cayde before or after. There was just the him now, at his core. The Six. Honest and completely unguarded, letting me see a side to him he’d kept so deeply private and hidden until that moment. 

I’d watched him for a while longer, a dreamy softness surrounding us. And, as I’d heard and felt his breathing pick up, I’d leaned over and kissed his lips, long and slow. He’d reached up, laying his hand on the back of my neck, fingers tangling into my hair, needfully moaning into my mouth. I’d smiled against his lips then let him go and shifted down his body, kissing and playfully nipping at various little spots, making him jump and laugh amidst his writhing. He’d opened his eyes and looked down at me, his optics seeming vaguely glazed over. “Just enjoy it, handsome,” I’d whispered, wrapping my free hand around his throbbing heat, lightly stroking it. “Let yourself go.” I’d kissed his abdomen, hearing and feeling him let out a content sigh. His chest heaved with quick, shuddering breaths as he leaked against my hand, his own hands fisting the covers under us. I’d grinned, thrilled at how excited I’d gotten him, then took him into my mouth with a long, deep moan, savoring his taste and the full, slightly curved shape of his erection against my lips and tongue. He’d actually gargled and I’d glanced up just in time to see his head fall back into the pillow, his chest arching up as he bucked. “Oh, fffffffffuck, Ais!”

I’d smiled to myself, elated, and started bobbing my head and rippling my tongue as I worked my finger a little more urgently. In the midst of it all, I’d slid my free hand back up his torso, laying my palm over his heart, feeling the powerful swishing sensation beneath his chest. He’d immediately laid his own hands over mine, petting the back and up over my arm as he panted harder and faster, his hips rocking urgently.

I had never seen him come undone like that before, crying out with complete abandon, letting go of all control as the orgasm took him. It was beyond words. I’d managed to make him feel something he hadn’t experienced before. Something I definitely wanted to make him feel again!

After, I’d curled up around his back, spooning in behind him, and held him close, kissing the port on the back of his head. He’d laid his hand over the one I’d draped over his middle, lacing our fingers together. “Shouldn’t I …?”

“Shhhh,” I'd cooed. “Later. I promise. You can do anything you want to me. Right now, if it’s okay, I just want to hold you.”

“Oh, good. I love you. I wanna do all kinds-a stuff … but I, uh .. W-well, I’ll be honest, I-I think you shorted out my circuits.”

I’d lowly chuckled, rather proud of myself, and kissed the back of his head again. “Are you okay?”

“Fan-fucking-tastic,” he’d enthused, nodding. “Wow. I … I don’t think I’ve ever felt like this before. Like … I just … I feel everything everywhere and … so calm and relaxed at the same time. Like - like I just got the wind knocked outta me but in a good way. If that’s even possible.”

“See?” I’d smiled. “You just needed to get laid right,” I’d joked, grinning.

He’d snorted and looked over his shoulder at me. “I ain’t gonna argue that.” He then frowned at me. “Um … Maybe a stupid question but …”

“Will I do it again sometime?” I’d asked, grinning again as he nodded. “Of course.” I’d given him a little squeeze.

He wiggled happily and settled back down, letting out a deep, contented breath. “Now … we gotta find your ‘magic button’,” he purred.

“Mmm. I don’t know what I’m more excited about,” I purred in his ear, kissing just behind it. “Finding it … or what you’re going to do to me _to_ find it.”

“Oh, baby. You just wait,” Cayde had rumbled.

***

“Helloooooo? Cayde to Ais. Come in Ais …” Cayde’s hand waved right in front of my face startling me. 

“Huh? What?” I asked, backing away from the hand as I blinked.

“You alright?” He asked, looking at me, clearly a little concerned.

“Oh, yeah,” I nodded. “I’m sorry.” I grinned. “I was thinking about last night.”

His eyebrows went up as his expression brightened. “Ohhhh, ho-ho-ho! You were, were ya?”

“Mmm hmm,” I nodded. “Thinking about how glorious you looked. The sounds you were making …” I purred as I trailed a finger down the center of his chest over his shirt. “How good you smelled … and tasted.”

“Oooooh,” Cayde rumbled nuzzling my jaw. “You liked all that, huh?” He murmured, kissing the side of my neck. “Every … last … little bitta me, hmm?”

I curled into the tender affections and slyly looked into his eyes. “Everything about you. I just … Sometimes I feel like I just want to pull you into me. All of you. Feel every part of you. Heart and soul.” 

“I feel the same way about you, Ais,” he softly breathed, resting his head against mine. “I just wanna wrap my arms around you and feel you all around and through me.”

I shifted a bit closer, so he could do just that, laying into his chest as I tucked my head under his chin. “Would you be interested in doing more? Like last night.”

“Whatdeya mean?”

“Like if I … maybe … bought a strap on?” I asked, glancing at him with curious playfulness.

His eyebrows rose again and he carefully and contemplatively looked me up and down before making a smacking sound with his mouth. “One condition,” he said.

“Yes?” I asked.

He leaned in close, brushing his cheek to mine, lips to my ear. “I get to buy a vibrator and watch you writhe,” he lowly breathed, then nibbled at my earlobe. 

I shuddered and moaned, sighing at the thought of that! “Cayde, you can do anything you want to me,” I breathed, my eyes fluttering closed. I wondered why we hadn’t tried those things sooner? Or experimented more like we had last night. Maybe it was the romantic in both of us. Just wanting it to be the two of us as we explored one another before trying other things. 

“Anything, hm?” He breathed right back.

“Anything,” I grinned.

The rest of that day had been filled with making love in the dewy grass of the poppy field on the side of the hill, wandering the path we’d walked for our wedding and talking about how special and unforgettable it had been, like a fairytale. We had a picnic in the shade by one of the brooks that wound down from further up the mountain while dipping our toes in the cool, crisp water. We explored more of the abandoned buildings surrounding the main temple and, then, as the sun began to set, casting brilliant fiery oranges and pinks across the sky … Cayde surprised me with one last thing.

He brought me out to a clearing, Ghost materializing beside him, and stood rather proudly, the plates on his cheeks turned up as if he were grinning. “Sooooo … last night, you gave me a pretty amazing present with that cabin.”

I grinned, thrilled and happy all over again as I recalled his joy when he’d opened his eyes and finally saw it. “I’m glad you liked it.”

He looked a bit surprised. “Liked it?! Babe, I’m in love with it! It’s the most amazing thing anyone’s ever given me! And not just cause ya gave it to me but cause of what it was and the thought and care and … just … that you get me. Get what I need sometimes.” He stepped a little closer to me and kissed my cheek. “Y’know, with all that went down last night …” He waggled his eyebrows at me, making me giggle before he continued. “Well, I didn’t get to give you my present and I don’t want ya to think I forgot or anything.”

“You got me something?” I asked. Honestly, I hadn’t expected anything. The cabin was just something very special I’d wanted to do for him and I thought giving it to him as a wedding gift would be perfect. But I never expected or even needed him to give me anything in return. Having him was all I’d ever wanted.

“Course I did,” he scoffed, as if it were silly of me to ask. “Although I, uh, I had a little help.” He smirked at Ghost.

“Playing both sides, were you?” I smiled at Ghost.

“You’re _both_ my Guardians,” Ghost pointed out. “Hardest part was knowing what you were getting each other and resisting the urge to tell you. That and not getting exasperated with Cayde. He really needed all the help he could get.”

“What?! I did not! I totally knew what I was doing!”

“Right,” Ghost skeptically muttered.

I laughed. 

“Anyway …” Cayde eyeballed Ghost, who was hovering near his shoulder. He gave him an affectionate shove. “Floating Rubik’s Cube,” he muttered. Ghost bopped him in the side of the head in return and I snickered. Cayde shook his head then clapped his hands together. “So, as I was sayin’ … Last night you gave me a pretty amazing gift. Well … actually, you gave me a couple of amazing gifts.” He said, a grin in his voice as he winked.

“Oh, Light, your lead up is terrible!” I laughed.

“Seriously,” Ghost muttered.

“Hold on! Hold on! I’m goin’ somewhere with this, swear! This is the build up,” Cayde assured.

“You guys are going to be celebrating your fiftieth by the time you get to it,” Ghost pointed out.

“Eeeh, chet-chet-chet,” Cayde babbled, waving Ghost off. “Anyway, you got me somethin’ really special. And, not even knowin’ anything about that, I was thinkin’ the same thing. I didn’t wanna just getchya somethin’ that would sit on a shelf, or somethin’ that would be … Well …” He frowned. “I really wanted it to be somrthin’ that had meaning to ya. So I sat sown with Ghost and we thought of a whole buncha things but nothin’ really seemed to have that …” He made a gripping motion with his hand. “And then … I remembered somethin’ you told me about … somethin’ special that ya lost. So I asked Ghost what he had on it and if there was anything stored away to help me remake it.”

“Re … make it?” I asked, frowning, furrowing my eyebrows. “Remake what?”

Cayde smugly smiled then looked to Ghost. “Wanna show her, Little Buddy?” 

Ghost bobbed and floated closer to me. “He really did remake it all himself - much to even my surprise,” he told me, gesturing to Cayde who stuck his tongue out before Ghost materialized a sparrow right in front of me. 

And not just any sparrow.

As I realized what I was looking at, my mouth fell open and I gaped, feeling my eyes tear up a little from a slight welling of emotion. I stared at the stunning solid ebony frame, the stabilizing bars and edge-wing thrusters outlined with a fine line of shifting color and shimmering light as it followed the body and overall shape of the sparrow, making it softly glow. I could hear the low and once familiar and sturdy hum of its engine as it hovered before me, felling like, for an instant, I was teleported through time to when I’d first acquired it.

“Cayde …” I looked over at him, lost for words. 

He stepped around the sparrow and put his arm around me, kissing my temple, and I knew he was able to sense the elation and overflowing joy I was feeling at seeing my old sparrow. “You told me you called it your Firefly before you even let slip that the little nickname was meant for me. You said it was so you had something out there with you that made it feel like I was there, too. Something sure and sturdy that you and Ghost could count on. Even though that touched me, I never really said just how much. But it did, Ais. When you told me that, it really stuck a special place in my heart. And I wanted to give it back to you. Cause I know there are gonna be some days when you’re gonna be out there and I’m gonna be stuck in the Tower. I wanted to give ya that feelin’ again when ya need it.”

I held my bottom lip between my teeth and reached out, touching the bar of the stabilizer, my fingers following the changing light pattern, noticing a small silver plaque on the side near the handle. I leaned over to read it aloud. “Blink for love and beep for joy,” I shakily whispered, recognizing the elegant etched scrawling on it as Cayde’s handwriting. I looked up at him and shook my head then grabbed him up in a tight hug. “Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you so much.” I looked over at Ghost. “You, too, you amazing Little Light,” I whispered and pulled him into the hug, too. 

I felt so damn lucky in that moment. So loved. It was the best thing they could have ever given me.

“You’re so welcome, beautiful,” Cayde whispered back, hugging me tight as Ghost nuzzled my cheek.

“You really rebuilt it, huh?” I asked, easing back a little, looking at the sparrow again, unable to believe something I’d lost so long ago was now right back here with me and even better than new.

“Actually, he swore at it and threw tools around more than anything,” Ghost tattled. “I never knew Cayde had such a … colorful array of words in his vocabulary.”

“Hey, there’re all kinds of weird headed screws holdin’ those things together and the schematics …” He shook his head. “I don’t know how Amanda works on these things.”

“Complicated, huh?” I smiled. “Why didn’t you ask Amanda for help?”

“No, no, no. An Exo body is complicated. _That_ thing …” He eyed the sparrow menacingly, making me laugh, then smiled at me. “And, yeah, I cursed at it a plenty, but I wanted to do it myself. I know it probably sounds silly but … it was important. Special.”

I gave him another hug. “So, you sure you got all the screws and wires in the right places, hm? We aren’t going to blow up are we? I know how you like explosions.”

He laughed. “Wanna take it for a ride and find out?”

“I don’t want to blow up!” I laughed, giving him a little shove. “But I definitely do want to take it for a ride,” I nodded. I had faith in Cayde. I knew he - and Ghost - wouldn’t give me something like this without having made sure it was safe and in proper working order first. And I definitely knew Cayde wouldn’t have worked on something so hard and carefully only to let it blow up. Especially with me on it.

“He had Amanda check it twice when it was done,” Ghost told me.

“Ah! Shhhh!” Cayde chided, pointing at Ghost even as he winked at me.

I giggled. “So … I see the seat’s a little different than the original. Made for two people now,” I smiled. 

“Is it?” Cayde asked me, petting the front part of the seat, holding out his hand to help me hop on. “I wonder why that might be?” He coyly teased.

I grinned and took his hand, letting him help me, feeling the low, steady vibration and hum of the engine as I settled and checked over the instruments. The sparrow then sagged a bit more, Cayde getting on behind me, leaning in against my back, curling around me, chin on my left shoulder. “Alright, now, I did change a couple-a things from the old version, plus - since that one was made - new stuff’s come out. This here,” he said, pointing to a red switch covered by a clear safety cap near the left handle bar, “you press this, thrusters go into turbo. It’ll give ya a good boost and get ya outta a bad spot fast. They got a count down of fifteen seconds, though, and then they shut down so they don’t overheat and burn out the engine. You won’t be able to reactivate it until the engine shuts down and has time to cool, so you can’t use it all the time. It’s just for emergencies. Now, over here,” he said, switching sides, now resting his chin on my right shoulder. “See this handle here?” He asked, tapping a silver bar in front of the handle with his fingertips. I nodded. “You squeeze this, both handlebars fold downward so you can hug the body and the whole sparrow will roll mid-air in whichever direction you lean. You gotta be movin’ at least a hundred or it won’t have the speed to keep you propelled in the air and won’t let ya do it. ‘Kay?” Again, I nodded, impressed and excited by the improvements. I couldn’t wait to try them! “Now, one more thing,” he said. “You cannot use the roll while in turbo. It won’t even let ya. If you hit turbo and tried to roll in this thing, it’d send you outta control and you’d likely get killed. But the stabilizers will make it so you’ll have really great control while goin’ super fast, so you should be able to move from side to side in turbo pretty good without worryin’ about rolling to dodge anything comin’ at ya.”

I could feel the warmth of Cayde’s body against my back and smell the spicy scent of his cologne. Neither was new to me and both were something I’d had intimately and blissfully assail my senses for the last two days. And yet I felt myself shiver a little nonetheless, goosebumps rising all over my skin, unable to help the swelling of excitement and love of him being pressed so close yet again. He held that same self-assured tone and direction of his voice, reminding me of the time before we’d confessed our love and desire for each other. A time when I’d watched him from afar as a Vanguard mentor - the very same feelings I felt now prickling the edges of my senses whenever I had an excuse to be near him.

I looked over my shoulder and smiled at him, then pressed my face to his cheek for a moment before kissing it. “Cayde, I love it.” I looked at Ghost who was hovering in front of us, looking over what Cayde was showing me. “You, too, Little Light. This is incredible. I never thought I’d ever see this sparrow again.”

“So, what are you waiting for?” Ghost asked. “Let’s try it out!” He exclaimed and tucked himself in along the dash, ready to go.

Cayde slipped his arms around my waist and snuggled up closer against my back. “Now, remember, lean into it and grip it tight, but not too tight,” he purred in my ear.

“Are we still talking about the sparrow?” I asked, grinning at him over my shoulder as he chuckled into the side of my neck.

I revved up the engine then released the clutch and the sparrow burst forth, smooth and even, the old familiar and uniquely low fluttering sound of it echoing across the valley as we sped along. I brought us in over the river, gliding over the shimmering water as a heavy spray curled up into the air all around us. I felt Cayde sigh and I glanced at his face, seeing his eyes were closed, but his cheek plates were lifted in a smile. I could sense the carefree feeling about him as well as an overwhelming sense of contentment. “You really love being on the sparrows, don’t you?” I asked.

“It’s … freeing,” he nodded. “You can forget everything else and just feel the rush of the wind on your face … feel the way your heart races as you go faster and faster.”

“Feel alive?” I softly asked.

“Yeah,” he quietly answered and I sensed a twinge of melancholy hit him.

“You okay?” I asked.

He was quiet for a few moments before answering. “Sometimes, bein’ in the Tower, around everyone all the time, is more lonely then actually bein’ alone out in the Wilds. Back in the old days, I could go anywhere and do anything. Whenever I wanted. Didn’t hafta ask, didn’t need to get clearance or tell people where I was goin’. Nothing. I could just … go if that’s what I wanted. When I stepped inta Andal’s old spot … all that ended. A hundred and thirty-one years.” I was about to say something when I suddenly sensed his mood brighten. “But then you came along. And, yeah, I wasn’t ever alone. I know I’m bein’ dramatic there. But …” He sighed.

“It was a different alone,” I attempted. “You felt alone in your heart. Alone emotionally. You wanted someone there you could talk to and curl up with. Someone you could fall asleep with … and someone who’d be there when you woke up.”

“Did I tell ya this story before?” He asked, making me smile.

“I think I just know you too well,” I told him. I also understood. I'd felt that way many times myself, even with Ghost around. It was a different form of companionship that was needed.

He softly chuckled. “That ya do, beautiful. And I love it. And that’s what I was thinkin’. Here I am, out ridin’ in the valley where I first woke up, the love of all my lifetimes with me, feelin’ that free rush washin’ over me. You changed everything, Ais. And I couldn’t be more grateful to ya.”

I smiled as I tilted my head to his, briefly letting go of the left handlebar to pet his arms. He nuzzled me and kissed my cheek. “Now, whatdeya say we open this baby up and see what a Firefly can really do?” He asked.

The rest of that evening, the valley of Lhasa echoed the sound of the sparrow as colorful streaks of light dashed and weaved about in the darkness along the softly rolling hills and twisting waterways, the moon above casting a soft and peaceful glow, neither Cayde nor I noticing the faint and ominous red shadow creeping around it’s edges.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all liked it! More soon! As always, thank you for all the comments and kudos! 💕


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter ended up being almost 30 pages. Yes, you have a bit of a read ahead of you. I don't think you'll mind. LOL! But I hope you enjoy it!

“So … um …” I glanced over at Cayde as we broke Earth’s orbit, heading for the Moon. He looked over at me, eyebrows up is he curiously waited for me to continue. “Day after tomorrow …” I hesitantly finished.

His face fell a bit and he looked away, down at the console. “Yeah,” he uttered, nodding. “Um … I’ve been thinkin’ and … I was wonderin’ if you and Ghost would like to come with me back to the monastery? I’d like to light a candle there for her on the spot where she rezzed me. Maybe … maybe make it a thing we do every year.”

I reached across the center console and laid my hand on his, giving it a squeeze. “How ‘bout we do a little picnic, too? Like the one we did after our wedding. She’d like that, wouldn’t she?”

Cayde’s features brightened and Ghost appeared, settling on his shoulder, rolling in against his hood in a comforting gesture. Cayde smiled and tilted his head into Ghost’s shell, reaching up, petting him softly. “Hey, Little Buddy,” he murmured. “Yeah, she’d like that,” he nodded to me, then looked out the window toward the Moon as we came out of the short jump and closed in on it. “That is, if we don’t get stuck here for more than a couple days.”

“Yeah,” I sighed. The discovery of the Pyramid Ship took precedence. We all knew that. That was the breaks of what we did. Of what we were. Personal stuff came second. “But, hey, if something does happen and we can’t get back in time, first thing we do when we do get home, we go to Lhasa. We’ll make it a special day, even if it might not be on the exact day.” I hadn’t told Cayde, but I’d made sure to have some stuff packed away on the ship to help make the day a little easier incase we couldn’t make it back in time. And, with the way things were going, I had a feeling we wouldn’t. Even Ghost had done a little something, privately telling me he’d brought a couple of Cayde’s favorite books along, just to give him a distraction if he’d needed one and couldn’t sleep.

Smiling at me a bit sadly but warmly, Cayde had nodded. “She’d understand if shit went sideways and we had to take care-a all this stuff first. Hell, she’d _tell_ us to take care of it first and wish she was here with us to see what’s in that Pyramid. She’d find that a helluva lot better than just lighting a candle at an abandoned monastery.” He wistfully sighed then swallowed a bit thickly, and I could tell he felt like there was more he should do but he just didn’t know what and it was frustrating, leaving him a bit emotionally restless. “She did love a good adventure,” he quietly added.

“Hey,” I whispered and he looked over at me again, blinking a bit. I turned my hand over and laced out fingers together. “We’re a team. But you know I can handle this. If you need to - ”

“No-no-no,” he shook his head, squeezing my hand. “I appreciate it, baby. I really do. But let me keep busy for now, okay? I’ll be alright. I just … I need to. I know … I know it’ll get easier in time. The first year’s always the hardest one.”

I nodded, knowing he knew that all too well. I lifted his hand to my lips, kissing the soft leather glove at the back of it. He smiled and squeezed my hand, clearing his throat as he looked out the window again, the ship slowing as we neared the surface. “Welp, here we go,” he uttered, giving my hand one last squeeze before letting go and taking control of the ship, bringing us around over the Anchor Of Light, nearing in on the coordinates Eris had sent for the encampment. Ghost moved to hover over the console between us, comparing readings and any transmissions coming in from fellow Guardians.

“Lots of activity. Hive. Mostly around the Keep. More of those Nightmares, too. Many Guardians are in the area pushing them back,” Ghost told us. “Also …” His shell twitched with concern. “Several mission reports are being filed about Guardians having breakdowns. Some going into catatonic states.”

I frowned. “The Nightmares?” I asked.

Ghost twitched again, making an electronic burble as he went over the files. “That’s what the reports say. Some of the Guardians affected are New Light. But most … are Veterans.”

“It’s the ships defense tactic,” Cayde noted. 

I nodded in agreement. “It’s not affecting the Hive, though.”

“No, it wouldn’t,” Eris suddenly cut in over the feed.

Cayde jumped a little in his seat. “Geez! Don’t you ever knock?!” He sputtered.

“As I suspected, the Hive have devised a way to shield themselves from the dark powers of the Pyramid and control the Nightmares,” Eris continued as if he hadn’t said anything. “A Veteran Fireteam went into the Scarlet Keep a few hours ago to investigate the source of a surging number of Hive onto the Moon’s surface. They encountered Hashladûn and discovered that she and her sisters have been using the Keep as a base to experiment with the dark powers of the Pyramid.”

“Crota’s eldest daughter,” I noted, feeling the settling of the ship as Cayde landed us in the designated safe zone of the encampment and powered down the engines before giving more of his attention to what Eris was saying.

“Yes,” Eris replied. “And the spoils of her death are twofold.”

“They killed her?” I asked, frowning.

“It was not a planned strike,” Eris told us. “But it has opened up an opportunity for us. What comes next, however, is something only you have experience with. You are the only Guardian alive, besides myself, who has delved into some of the darkest reaches of the Hive’s world and survived.”

I squared my jaw bracing myself as I took a calming breath, feeling Cayde’s hand settle on my arm, no doubt sensing my apprehension and twinge of dread. I had a good idea what was coming. I’d expected it was likely ever since the first trip here and discovering the Pyramid. But now that it was here, I couldn’t help that sinking feeling. “Where?” I asked her.

“The Catacombs,” Eris replied.

I closed my eyes and swallowed, a feeling like cold, bony fingers brushing against the back of my neck briefly sweeping over me, making me shiver a little. I hadn’t been in the Catacombs but places quite similar. And I’d read up on the known Hive history and the files on Eris and her reports from after she’d crawled out of that Hell and made her way back to the City. The Catacombs were a place of pure darkness. Where the most dangerous and potent known Hive magics were kept. “What are we looking for?” I asked, opening my eyes, my gaze straight ahead out the window, my eyes scanning the barren, gray surface.

“It is called a Cryptoglyph,” Eris told us. “It is a powerful set of runes the Hive use to conjure their magics. I have yet to learn of it … It is what Crota’s daughters have been using to both block and command the Nightmares. I believe, if we can get it, we can use it to fashion a way to protect you and Cayde from the Pyramid’s influence and gain you entrance inside.”

“Coordinates?” I asked. 

“It lies at the bottom of the Hellmouth,” Eris told us then paused, making a strange, almost frustrated sound. “Away from me you insufferable annoyance!” She hissed.

“Uuuh … You alright there, Eris?” Cayde asked.

“It is … nothing. Do not trouble yourselves. Focus. The Cryptoglyph. Remember, the Pyramid will do anything to stop us getting inside. Do not let it distract you.” With that, the feed closed. 

I leaned back in my seat and let out a breath I hadn’t really realized I’d been holding.

“I was, uh - I was gonna make a joke here but I’m gettin’ the sense it might not be a good time,” Cayde offered, turning in his seat to look at me more carefully. 

“The Catacombs …” Ghost uttered, shivering a little, himself. He knew the reports as well as I did. And both of us remembered the deep dark places we’d already traipsed. The personal nightmares that we we’d had from them long after. 

“You know,” I quietly said to Cayde, glancing over at him. “The Hive, themselves, aren’t that scary. Really, the Thrall, individually, are just relentless, idiotic claws with chittering mouthes. Easy to put a stop to. In large numbers, they could overpower you - as I know you know - so they are a threat. But scary?” I shook my head. “No. Not really. Same with the Acolytes, Knights, and Wizards. But what was scary - what always got to me and to Ghost, even on the Dreadnaught - were the sounds in the darkness. The vibe. The cold. Not knowing what, if anything, was at your back or going to come out of the walls. It was more a mindfuck than anything. It’s like they just knew what got to you so they could throw you off.” Cayde reached over and took my hand between both of his, holding it and petting it softly as he let me keep talking. “The deeper you went, the worse it got. Not just the Hive themselves, but the feeling of dread and hopelessness that seeped into you. Paranoia. The cold that gnashed at your Light, trying to wear you down and make you weak. The dark smothering you little by little. And the smell of death. That sickening sweet smell of rot and decay.”

Cayde nodded as he shifted in his seat, leaning a little closer toward me. “Back in the day, when I was wild and free …” I smirked a little and he smiled back, seeming happy he’d made me smile. “I did a lotta traipsin’ around in places I shouldn’ta been. Especially up here. I mean, c’mon. It’s the Moon. First place humans went once they had the power to leave the planet. Tons-a fantastic Golden Age stuff - Not as great as Mars but I didn’t know that at the time and my ship couldn’t make it that far. Hell, I was lucky I got back to Earth in that rust bucket.” I smiled again, watching as he glanced down at my hand, tracing the lines and ridges of the armor on the back of my glove. “I digress. Anyway,” he said, sitting back up a little, looking at me again. “When I first came here, it wasn’t nothin’ new that the Hive were up here. I knew there was tons of danger and a buncha creepy stuff goin’ on. It’s what drew me here. Besides great loot.” I lightly chuckled and he smiled again. “I wasn’t ever afraid of comin’ here. Aside from my first encounters with the Hive on Earth in my very early days and figurin’ out what the hell they were, fear never came to mind. I was used to ‘em. But, uh, that day you know about, when I came up here and all the Thrall came pourin’ out and it was just me and that Fallen Baroness?” I nodded. “Yeah,” he nodded, too. “That day I was scared.” I tilted my head, a bit surprised at the confession. Even Ghost twitched a little. It wasn’t often Cayde openly admitted things like that. “I never tell it that way in the story,” he huffed, smirking, “but, uh …” he nodded. “Yeah, I was scared when I saw ‘em all, just … like a really pissed off colony-a ants swarming outta a hill. And right at me. I’d encountered and shot a lotta Thrall and Hive over the years up ’til that day. So I’d seen some numbers and knew how nasty they can be. But I ain’t never seen so many as I did that day. And the sound they made - that hissing and wailing …” He shook his head. “You’re right. It does somethin’ to ya. Somethin’ about that sound that strikes a primal spot in your brain that freaks ya the hell out.”

I reached over and laid my other hand on top of the one he had on mine and he lifted our hands to his dark metallic lips, softly kissing the back of mine, giving me another reassuring smile, his aqua eyes warm. “Guess what I’m trynna say is, I get it, Ais. I know that feelin’ you had - and still do. Not in the exact same sense, cause I’ve been inta some deep Hive caves and spawning grounds in my time, but I was never down as deep as you’ve gone - well …” He frowned a bit, tilting his head. “I guess I kinda was, when I was with ya on the comms, but I know it’s not the same as actually _bein’_ in that hell.”

“Hearing your voice in the dark … when you’d talk to us - Ghost and I - and try and make us think of anything but where we really were, or when you’d try to crack a joke - ”

“I bet those went a little flat at the time, huh?” He asked.

I smiled again and nodded. “Flatter than a pancake,” I admitted and he shyly chuckled. “But, that wasn’t the point,” I told him. “They still made me feel better. Made Ghost and I feel less alone in there. I knew you were trying because you did get it. You knew what we were facing. And you were that bit of Light we needed to keep us going. It warmed us. Pushed away the cold and sinking loneliness that closes in down there. Your voice is still the best thing in the whole world to hear. And I know that probably sounds cheesy, but it’s true. Hearing your voice was the most reassuring thing through it all.”

He squeezed my hands. “Hatin’ that you’re in that heavy getup right now,” he murmured. "Not gonna lie, I wanna pull ya over here into my lap and hold ya for a good long while,” he confessed.

I leaned over and lightly pressed my forehead to his. “I have a feeling there will be plenty of time for that later,” I whispered. “And I welcome it, handsome. I’m just beyond grateful you’re here with us now. I think you’re totally crazy for wanting to willingly go down in there with us, though.”

“Are you kidding?” He asked, leaning back a little, looking at me with a surprised and mildly offended expression. “When I said ‘Hey, take me with you,’ I meant anywhere. And that was back when it was just Vanguard and Guardian. You’re my wife, Ais. It could be the deepest pits of literal hell, and there’s no place else I’m gonna be but right by your side.”

I let go of his hands and cupped his face in my palms, drawing him in for a soft kiss. “I love you, you wonderful man,” I whispered.

“I love you,” he whispered back. “More than anything,” he added, easing back, running his fingers through my long bangs as he looked me over. “And I got your back. Both of you,” he said, looking at Ghost who bobbed appreciatively, shell twitching. “No matter how deep we go or how dark it gets, I’m there. For real this time,” he vowed. “But none-a that fancy Warlock meditating or chanting after,” he said, waving his hand dismissively. 

“It does help, Cayde,” I assured him.

He made a ‘pfffftthhpt’ sound and shook his head again. “Nah. Just let me kick back with a glass of Ab~Synth to settle the circuits and a really stacked sandwich, I’ll be fine.” 

I laughed, recalling how, when I’d found him on Nessus, he’d mentioned putting a bullet in Ghaul’s head and having a sandwich after. “So, is that how you really cope? Sandwiches? You mean all the comforting hugs and cuddles I’ve been doing all this time were wrong? I just needed to make you sandwiches?” I asked, snickering.

Cayde threw his head back, laughing! “Well, I do love a good sandwich but I’ll take the hugs and cuddles over that any day. Especially from you,” he added, his voice lowing a bit, eyebrows waggling.

“Oh, don’t do the voice thing,” I told him, giving him a gentle shove even as I smiled at him. 

“What? What ‘voice thing’? I wasn’t doing anything!” He said, throwing his hands up as if he were clueless.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. When you lower your voice and give me that hinting look,” I told him, smirking.

“I honestly have no idea what you mean,” Cayde scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest, looking playfully indignant.

“Uh huh,” I skeptically nodded.

“You always lower your voice and give a look when yo-merffuffuff,” Ghost attempted but was cut off by Cayde putting his hands around him and easing him down against his chest. “Shhhhhhh,” he gently hushed Ghost, looking at me as innocently as possible.

I laughed again and Cayde eyed me knowingly, a smile slowly tugging at his cheek plates. “You feel better?” He asked, as if he didn’t know.

“Much,” I nodded.

“Good.” He leaned over, giving me one more kiss, then the three of us got up and gathered the guns, ammo, and supplies we’d need and prepared to head for the Hellmouth.

***

“Somewhere within that Hive-infested labyrinth lies our Cryptoglyph,” Eris said over the comms as Cayde, Ghost, and I made our way into the Hellmouth. “Be careful,” she added, her usually stoic tone softening slightly. “In the rotting depths of that tomb … light does not find a way.”

“Comforting,” Cayde muttered and Ghost smacked him upside the head with the side of his shell. “Ow! What?!” Cayde hissed, rubbing the spot.

I held my hand up to both of them, my index finger raised. “Shh!” I hushed. I’d heard scraping and light clomping sounds echoing over a hard surface not far up ahead. As we neared where the tunnel opened up, I crouched down, Cayde close at my back, Ghost over my shoulder, and peeked around the cave wall into the open area of the Hall of Wisdom. Large, angled, Hive-constructed beams aligned the walls not far in front of us, dimly lit lamps attracted a cluster of Lunar Moths, and Acolytes lumbered about in what seemed like an almost restless daze. “Is it just me, or is this place … redder than the last time we were here?” Ghost whispered, looking around.

I nodded, noticing the same red tones of the Keep had spread down below the surface like rust gradually tainting the unmistakable architecture. We watched as the Acolytes seemed to pace about the only entrance into where we needed to go, no doubt their guards up with Hashlaûn’s defeat. Ghost sighed, looking at me. “Just like old times.” 

I nodded and looked over my shoulder to Cayde. “Ready to crash the party?” I whispered, smirking.

“Do they have good booze?” He asked, eyebrows raised. “I’m an Exo of discerning taste, after all.”

“Oh, the best,” I nodded, playing along.

“Well, then. Let’s make it an entrance to impress,” he nodded. “Don’t wanna crash and not be remembered,” he winked.

“Why do I get the feeling the Hive are going to be telling stories about you for years to come?” I asked.

“It’s the face,” Cayde seriously stated, running his hand in a circular motion over his features. “It’s just so blindingly handsome, it’s impossible to forget.”

I snickered, shaking my head, and motioned I was going to take the left side, staying crouched as I snuck over behind a half wall on the edge of a balcony. “I see a couple Knights further in. Walking the circle. Otherwise, mostly just Acolytes.”

“‘Kay. We’ll hit ‘em from both sides and work our way into the middle,” Cayde nodded. “Divide their fire.”

Once we easily disposed of the first group at the entrance, more were waiting further in over a small bridge. We used the large rocks on the other side as cover, Cayde and I darting back and forth between them as we took out the Acolytes, Cayde pulling out his fusion rifle to easily kill the Knights, which we’d saved for last. 

As we headed in, along the right side of the cave wall, the structure was held up by more Hive pillars, open bars, much like what one would find in a cage or prison, lining the wall itself. I was briefly startled as a dimly lit red phantom, one that looked much like a Hunter, suddenly caught my eye on the other side of a pillar, the figure hanging suspended in the air behind the bars against a concaved section of the wall. I noticed another one a little further up, on the other side of another pillar, that one appearing to be in Titan garb. It was disturbing to look at. Were these Phantomsm really spirits of Guardians who had died here or just illusions? If they were real, did they feel anything? Were they constantly trapped in a nightmare of their own? I thought about Cayde and myself. If we died down here - really died - would that be what we’d become? Trapped by the Darkness as enslaved deterrents to anyone else who dared try to get into the Pyramid? 

A hand settled on my shoulder and I jumped. “Shhhh,” Cayde soothed. “It’s a defense tactic. Nothin’ more. They ain’t real,” he murmured, but it a way that almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself of that as much as he was me. He pet my shoulder and offered me a bit of a smile. “Where we goin’, pal? You know this section better than I do.” 

I reached up and pet his hand, nodding. I knew that wasn’t true. Cayde did know where we were and how to get around this part. Not only had he been with me over the feed the last time I was in here, seeing what I was seeing as I’d made my way through, but he’d also helped map a lot of things on the Moon in the early days, including parts of this place. He was just trying to keep me focused … and I appreciated it.

“Circle Of Bones shouldn’t be too far up ahead,” I quietly told him. 

More Phantoms sporadically lined the cave as we pressed on, the end of the tunnel eventually opening up into an all too familiar place I recalled dying in a few times in my attempt to gain a key off a Knight. It was also the path into the Chamber Of Night, a mission I’d been on while battling Oryx. I smirked as I recalled it. “Remember the last time I was here?” I asked Cayde. “You and Eris were with Ghost and I then, too. Both of you on the comms. Eris had told me to hold fast to Toland’s journal. But you told me - ”

“To hold fast to your gun,” Cayde softly finished, a smile in his voice.

I smiled back and nodded. It was also the time when I got trapped for a while, terrified Ghost and I would never get out. I’d lost contact with both Cayde and Eris and Ghost and I had to find and use Tomb Husks to get the locks open and escape, all while being attacked by Taken. I’d died several times then, too. I’d never been so happy to hear their voices once we got out. Cayde’s hand slipped into mine, giving it a squeeze. I looked down at our joined hands, then up at his face. He didn’t say anything and he didn’t have to. He knew I was struggling with memories, even if I was trying not to let them get to me. 

“I’m here,” he told me and I nodded, taking a breath before we kept going.

“That’s our entrance,” Ghost said, gesturing to a hole n the cave wall across the way. “On the other side of the pit.”

“That wasn’t there last time we were in here,” I noted. 

“No,” Ghost confirmed. “Looks like they’ve been reworking the tunnels and pathways.”

“Let’s go tell ‘em they’re not up to code,” Cayde nodded.

“Are you just full of bad one-liners?” Ghost asked.

“No,” Cayde replied. “I’m also full of bad puns and bad jokes,” he told Ghost before silently slipping over the side of the platform we were on to circle around the Hive while I went the other way. 

“Why do you provoke him?” I asked Ghost, smirking.

“It’s fun. Besides, he has sharp wit. I actually enjoy sparing with him,” Ghost admitted. “Never thought I’d say that,” he added in a low mutter.

“Awwww, I love you, too, buddy,” Cayde cooed over the comm.

“I … forgot he could hear me,” Ghost mumbled.

“No you didn’t,” I quietly chuckled.

Between my Sunshot and Cayde’s Ace, the only things left in the Circle Of Bones by the time we were done clearing it were piles of ash that had once been Hive, including quite a large pile of what was once Thrall on the other side of the pit.

“Do you feel like a boss? I totally feel like a boss,” Cayde told me, reloading his cannon as he sauntered over.

“You’re certainly walking like a boss,” I nodded. I did love his swagger.

“I always walk like this.” His features shifted in that unique way that was his version of a grin. “What does that tell ya?” He asked, waggling his eyebrows.

“That you have a loose hip joint?” Ghost asked.

“Oh, you’re full of bad one-liners, too, hm?” Cayde asked him, making Ghost twitch his shell in annoyance at walking into that one.

“Oooooh, point for Cayde,” I told Ghost. “Gotta up your game, Little Light.”

“Don’t worry, Little Buddy. There’ll be plenty of chances for ya. None you’ll win. But the chances will still be there,” Cayde assured.

“Oh, so you admit there’s going to be numerous times you’re going to screw something up that I can take a jab at, hm?” Ghost asked him before following me to the Catacombs entrance.

“Wait … Wait, what?” Cayde asked, hurrying along to catch up while I struggled not to laugh.

“Looks like the Hive just … broke a hole in the wall,” I said, noting how rough it was, looking around at it as I stepped through, some rubble still in piles on the ground. 

“Yeah, but they were already starting to work a new structure into it,” Cayde noted, crouching down, checking out what appeared to be a slimy resin that would eventually harden and secure the hole. As he stood back up, he pulled a trip grenade out of pack and stuck it to the side of the entrance, before winking at me. “Little insurance,” he said and I smiled back, even though he couldn’t see me through my helmet, then nodded, the three of us heading further inside.

As soon as we took a few steps in, the shift in the atmosphere changed. The readings on my scanners showed a drastic temperature drop and I felt my armor adjusting to it. I looked over at Cayde, seeing him shiver. “You okay?” I asked him.

“Yeah, yeah,” he nodded, shifting his shoulders. “Armor’s kickin’ in.” He suddenly scrunched up his face. “Eeergh. I hate that smell,” he uttered.

I nodded. Cayde wasn’t wearing a helmet so he got the full brunt of it but, even with mine on and the filter system working, I could smell the cool, damp, moldy scent that hung in the air, mingled with a twinge of what I could only describe as rotten egg and decay. It was, literally, like walking into a tomb and a smell I was far too familiar with. “We’re going to run into a lot of Thrall. Smells like that slime they lick off the floor.”

“Remind me to tell Jimmy not to put any shoyu tamago in my ramen for a while,” Cayde muttered, his metallic features twisting in disgust.

“Ditto,” I nodded. “In fact, let’s just scratch egg anything off the menu for a while.”

Cayde nodded and gave me a finger gun of agreement just as a couple low growls echoed up over the crackled stairway that disappeared into the darkness in front of us. Two Acolytes came charging up, firing their weapons, to which Cayde quickly dispatched each of them before twirling his Ace on his finger and reholstering it. “Whelp, I did my part. Your turn, beautiful,” he said, bowing as he gestured me to go ahead.

As I started down the stairs, I noticed massive hexagonal columns on either side and all too familiar long rod and chain pieces dangling from the ceiling with illuminated crystals on the ends. Large chunks of rock also hung from the ceiling, some forming stalactites, others just pieces of the Moons crust that had been hacked and clawed at to form the opening chamber we were descending into. To make it even more unsettling, I noticed a light, slowly shifting mist all around us. Anywhere that light didn’t touch was a sharp and stark contrast of darkness, as if it were taken over, rather than one fading into the other.

“Never are the Catacombs unmanned, as they play host to the most potent of Hive magics - including our Cryptoglyph,” Eris told us, cutting in over the comms once again. “We know not what the Hive plan to do with power as dangerous as this. But they must not find success. The dark rituals of the Hive pose a threat we can’t currently afford to face. If their goals align with ours, it is of utmost importance they be halted immediately.”

“So, watch out cause there’s gonna be a lot of Hive guardin’ the Crypto-thingie. Got it,” Cayde nodded.

As we descended further, the grand stairway we’d been following appeared to be broken and partially crumbled. Seemed, when the Keep had risen up out of the Moon’s crust, the quakes had caused some damage to the Hive’s own structures. I also noticed this was where the sharp line of the light behind us ended, and the darkness of the Catacombs took over. I looked over at Cayde who had come up beside me and was peering down into the blackness. I almost asked him if he was sure he wanted to keep going, knowing the effect these places had. But also knew he’d just look at me like I was nuts and tell me he was with me. Plus, Cayde had faced off against a lot of dark and terrible things in his lifetimes. He knew what he was getting into. Hell, he was probably stronger than I was with all this stuff. Still, I loved him. That sense of wanting to spare him any more pain or bad nights -

Eris’s voice chimed in over the comms again. “It was within these depths that Crota and his brood stripped me of all that I cared for - my fire team … my friends. Only I remained, beaten and broken. The guilt of survival lingers. But you must not. Onward.”

A series of quick little flashes of memory seemed to fly by in my mind. Hunting and defeating Crota and those who served him. The long, arduous struggle to destroy Omnigul. Crossing over int the Ascendant Realm and facing Oryx. Of course, it wasn’t just facing the Hive that came to mind. My thoughts also moved past those moments to more recent times. To the Red War and all those we lost, and, of course, to the prison, remembering Cayde laying there, broken and helpless. 

“Ais?”

I blinked and realized I’d spaced again.

“You okay?” He asked me.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “Just …”I shook my head. “Are you?” I asked him, picking up on the subtle ebb of emotions from him.

He simply nodded, even though we both knew what Eris had said hit home with him, too. I nodded back, reaching over, giving his arm a tender rub. He smiled a little, then cleared his throat and looked down the dark stairway. “Ready? He asked, looking back at me. I nodded and the two of us hopped over the gap in the broken stairway, then over another a bit further down after that, landing in the darkness on the other side, the ground beneath our feet becoming hexagonal cobblestone-like tiles that matched the pillars. 

It was funny. All the years of fighting the Hive and the encounters with all levels of their hierarchy, as well as all the places of theirs I’d been, and it still amazed me that these creatures - these beings - actually could create such architecture and put it together in a way that was akin to our own from a time very long ago. A style people called ‘Gothic’. What really got me, though, was wondering who, within the Hive, created it? Was it all magically placed, or were there workers within their society we’d never seen?

My musings were quickly set aside, though, when I heard soft, low hissing and wheezing sounds echoing in the dark. Ghost appeared between us, casting a light ahead of us, and I noticed bubbled holes in the cave wall nearby. Barnacle-like pieces the Thrall fed on had once been growing on this wall. An angled archway was built into the wall beside it, more of the geometric stone tiles laid out before us on the other side, as well as what looked like scattered and shallow pools of water and large rocks. It looked like the Catacombs had once been grand but, in more recent years, had become dilapidated and unkept for some reason. As if no one had been in here to use them until recently. 

Scattered out in clumped patches near the edges of the pools were tiny matchstick shaped fungus spores, growing up out of the cracks in the stone, the tips softly glowing and shifting with the soft breeze of cold air that seemed to come from nowhere in particular, making it look like there were dozens of blinking eyes watching us from the dark. 

“Okay, creep factor is definitely up there,” Cayde muttered, looking around.

As Ghost’s light shined around the space the further in we went, it seemed as if the black creeped away from his light, almost like it were a living thing. “I really hate going into these places,” Ghost whispered.

Up in front of us were two large square stone carvings of some kind, one on either side of the tiled path leading through the Catacombs and, just as Cayde and I approached, something scurried across the ground between them, making an otherworldly snarl. I jumped back, gun aimed to the other side of the stone structure, but saw nothing emerge on the other side.

“Did you …” I asked Cayde and Ghost.

“I saw … something but …” Ghost hesitated, clearly unsure of what it was he’d seen.

“That was a Thrall, wasn’t it?” Cayde asked, following me around the structure to see where it went.

“It was too small,” I said. “And it was all black.”

“Maybe one-a those Taken things the Wizards send out after ya?” Cayde offered, looking around some more.

“I’m not picking up any Taken, Cayde,” Ghost told him. 

“Well, it had to be somethin’ right?” Cayde asked him. “Unless there are Moon rats we don’t know about.”

“That was bigger than a rat,” I told him.

When we didn’t find it and didn’t see anything else, we decided to continue though the next doorway into a room a step lower than the other, pretty much the same kind of room with more of the cube-shaped stone carvings scattered about. Up ahead, however, was the first source of light we’d seen, a green glowing lantern laying tilted against the wall near a closed door.

As if some force knew we’d settled our eyes on the door, a couple Thrall came creeping out of the dark, charging us and hissing as they brandished their claws. 

“Huh. Maybe it was a Thrall?” Cayde offered, shooting them.

I frowned. We’d thought the same thing back in the tunnels when we saw strange things there, too, before discovering the Pyramid. 

“Huh. Guess he was right,” Ghost said.

“Course. I mean, it’s the Moon. Besides Hive, and those musty old moths - and those weird Phantom things - what else would ever be down this far?” Cayde asked just as a black skeletal shadow came up out of the ground next to him and went silently crawling up the tall square pillar near his shoulder. Cayde caught it out the corner of his eye just as Ghost and I saw it and jumped back toward me. “Whoa!” He yelped and, without giving it a thought, I pulled him behind me, aiming my gun at the crawling shadow as it made a strange, wispy, echoing hiss, and quickly disappeared into the darkness of the ceiling above.

“That was no fucking Thrall,” I tightly breathed, teeth clenched. I noticed Ghost had shrunk in close over my shoulder, his eye darting around to see if he could spot where it went. I heard Cayde shifting behind me and glanced back to see he was looking around as well, aiming Ace wherever his eyes landed. 

“'Kay, creep factor just went over the top,” he muttered. “Nooooot too crazy about bein’ down here anymore.”

“I take it you’ve never run across that before?” I asked.

“Nope.”

“There are many things that go unseen in the darkness,” Eris stated over the comms, making all three of us jump a little at suddenly hearing her voice. “Many things best left unseen.”

“Not. Helping,” Cayde told her, then took a deep breath and let it out, calming himself down as he rubbed my shoulder. “Alright. Let’s, uh … Let’s check out that door,” he said, nodding ahead even as his eyes continued to dart around, looking for any more movement. 

As much as I didn’t want to go back over to where we saw that thing, we had a job to do. We needed to get the Cryptoglyph. So I forced the apprehension down to deal with later, just like I’d done a hundred times before in these nightmarish depths. It wasn’t that I was afraid. I wasn’t really afraid so much as unsettled by not knowing what in the hell it was or where it had gone once it had disappeared back into the darkness. It was the waiting on edge for it to jump out and startle us again that was bothering me.

As we got closer, I noticed the green glow wasn’t just coming from the lantern, but the floor as well. “There’s a lock seal here,” I told Cayde, stepping on it, activating it. Cayde joined me in the circle, both of us aiming our cannons at the door. There was no question something was going to come at us as soon as it opened. Instead, however, I caught the radar showing movement behind us and turned around, aiming my gun that way instead. “What? Behind us?” Cayde asked, and turned, just as Thrall came charging out of the dark. “Least we know what these are,” Cayde said as I tossed a flame grenade while he started firing on the other side, lighting up a row of Thrall coming around the pillars.

For a minute, it seemed like all the Thrall that were down here were coming at us and we kept putting them down, row after row. Counting Cayde’s shots, I stopped and reloaded while he kept firing, so I’d be able to take over while he reloaded. Thankfully, there weren’t as many as it seemed like when they first started charging at us and, eventually, the numbers quickly died down, Cayde shooting the last one just as a loud clang of breaking chains sounded, followed by the low, rumbling creak of the opening doors, the ground vibrating beneath our feet.

Of course, no surprise, a Knight made itself known, bellowing as it charged, sword raised. “Whoa! Angry cow!” Cayde mocked, jumping back, slamming his palm down on the hammer of his gun in three quick bursts, the relentless Knight crumbling and falling, the worm at its core screeching and bursting.

“Angry … cow?” Ghost asked.

“Yeah,” Cayde said, reloading. “Didn’t I mention that before, once? That sound they make. Don’t they sound like mad cows when they charge ya? Just ‘Merrrrr’!”

I snorted, I couldn’t help it!

“Actually … now that you mention it …” Ghost said, but was cut off when Acolyte fire started wizzing past us. I got up against one side of the doorway, using it for cover, Cayde on the other side. 

“We got a Shrieker, back against the far wall,” I told Cayde as I fired at the Acolytes, having both caught the outline of its closed form hanging in the air against a dim green glow and hearing the low, reverberating sound it made.

“Hmm. Well, I got somethin’ for it to shriek at,” Cayde lowly purred, pulling out his sniper rifle, holding it suggestively as he pet it, waggling his eyebrows. 

I shook my head, biting my bottom lip to stifle a laugh. “Cayde, that’s terrible,” I told him, doing a bad job at keeping my voice steady as I said it.

“I know,” he cooed, winking at me. “You take care-a these guys. I’ll go get the Shrieker.” He slipped around the doorway opening and darted off, sticking to the shadows and the pillars, not wanting to alert it until he knew he’d have a good shot.

“And you willingly married him?” Ghost asked. “Even knowing this is what he can be like when he lets his guard down?”

“It’s part of his charm, Little Light,” I affectionately said as I smiled. “Besides, you know he’s good for me. I can be way too serious,” I told him, my Sunshot lighting up the space with exploding Acolyte bodies, keeping them busy and unaware of Cayde sneaking around them.

“That’s true,” Ghost admitted.

A loud bang rang out and the Shrieker opened, howling as it sent out powerful Void orbs in the direction I assumed it believed Cayde was. Knowing Cayde, though, he’d made the shot to get it to open up, then dashed off to another spot so it wouldn’t be able to focus on him. Sure enough, another loud bag rang out, but from the opposite side as the previous one, hitting the Shrieker dead on, making it shatter, its low wailing cries following sporadic orbs of void light as they flittered about and disappeared, the pieces of its outer casing spinning through the air and hitting the walls before crumbling to the ground. 

“He makes that look so easy,” Ghost said.

“What can I say? Some got it, Little Buddy,” Cayde confidently told him over the comm. 

“Mmm. And some are just old and have been doing it a long time,” Ghost teased.

“Pearls before swine,” Cayde told him.

“Age before beauty,” Ghost countered.

“Glad we agree, since, technically, you were around before me,” Cayde countered back.

“Yes. I was. And, by your own logic, while I may be old, that would also make me the pearl … and you the swine. Wouldn’t it?” Ghost offered.

“Damn it,” Cayde cursed under his breath. “Well, at least I’m a beautiful swine. You’re just an old pearl!” 

Ghost actually chuckled while I laughed. I had a feeling a lot of the banter was more them trying to keep my spirits up than anything, even though they did like to spar with each other. I had absolutely no doubt Cayde had hatched a plan with Ghost that they’d just playfully dig at each other when it seemed needed to try and make me laugh, like Cayde had done years ago over the comms when I’d been deep in Hive territory both here and on the Dreadnaught. And, oh, how I adored both of them for it because it was, indeed, working.

“Ah, shit,” Cayde muttered. “Got another Knight up here,” he said, his gun ringing out in the darkness again. “Whoa, big boy! Not the toes! Not the toes!” I saw Cayde leaping backward out of the way as the Knight brought its sword down, a loud clang ringing out against the cold stone surrounding us. “Also got another set of doors opening!” He warned.

I quickly closed the gap between us just as a couple high-level Acolytes that had been hiding up above made themselves known and started shooting at us. I covered Cayde while he took care of the Knight, tossing a grenade toward the door to buy us both time, Thrall wailing as they poured out of it before the door was even fully open. Just as Cayde dispatched the first Knight, another one followed the Thrall out, more Acolytes with it. I finished off the last Acolyte above us and both Cayde and I focused our fire on the Knight, weakening it as it continued to charge, both of us running out of ammo at the same time. I ran up to it and leapt up into the air, fiery Light igniting all around me as I twisted my body, nailing the Knight right in the side of the head with my foot, the force sending it stumbling as it burned to cinders, engulfing the two Acolytes with it, all three becoming nothing but ash. When I landed back on my feet, I turned around to see Cayde standing there, features a bit slack in surprise, holding his hunting knife between his fingers by its tip, apparently ready to throw it just as I’d tackled the Knight. “Damn, babe, that was … very sexy.”

I smiled and walked over to him, putting my fingers under his chin, gently pushing it up. “Close your mouth and put your knife away, handsome,” I suggestively told him, then stepped back, reloading my gun. 

He chuckled and effortlessly flipped the knife into the air, grabbing it by its hilt as it came back down, sheathing it.

The next set of doors were different than the last ones we’d been through. Instead of them opening up to another large open room, we were greeted with a bulbous, knobby mass of rock that nearly covered the entrance, only a small amount of space between it and the door. To the right of it, there was a watery but open pathway that curved around near a wall. To the right, a small cave entrance down near the ground where we’d have to crouch to get through it.

“Huh,” Cayde grunted. “Whelp, given the two choices, I’m gonna say the right looks the least ominous. More Titan-friendly, too. I don’t think you _and_ your shoulders could fit through there.”

“Yeah?” I asked. “Looks Hunter-sized, though,” I told him. “What’s stopping you going in there?”

“You kidding? It’s dark and scary in there, no way!” He told me, spinning the barrel on his gun, taking point to the right.

I laughed and followed him.

It didn’t take long for a lot of the humor to fade, though. From both of us. It was like the darkness enveloped us as soon as we stepped through the doorway. Even with Ghost’s light leading the way, it was heavy and smothering. 

Depressing.

“I know I have a thing about the cold but … does it feel even colder in here than it did in the other room or is it really just me?” Cayde asked.

“There’s definitely a temperature drop,” Ghost confirmed. “Just above freezing.”

“Great. Of all the things to get tinkered with on me, had to be my cold resistance,” Cayde grumbled.

“Think of it this way, handsome,” I told him. “It’s a great excuse to get me to warm you back up.”

“Okay. Okay, this is lookin’ a bit better to me now,” Cayde nodded.

I grinned. 

When we hopped up onto a carved stone ledge, another one of those creepy shadows appeared in front of us, startling us again as it crawled out of a slim crack in the corner and went quickly scurrying along the wall like a spider, then disappeared back into the dark, a low, ominous, and windy echo accompanying it.

“Yeah, that - that’s, uh … that’s nothin’ I ever seen before today. Definitely something weirder than normal goin’ on around here,” Cayde confirmed with a slow nod. 

“Perhaps another diversion tactic from he Pyramid?” Ghost offered. “Like the Phantoms?”

“Maybe,” Cayde nodded.

We carefully creeped around the corner, looking for it, not sure if it or others would jump out at us, or even if it was something that could harm us. Instead of finding it or any others like it, though, we came face to face with human skeletons clustered together, some completely engulfed in the rock, others partially merged with it, their bones calcified with age. It was hard to tell if they were placed there by the Hive, or if, long ago, they’d been buried and, now, with the Hive hollowing out under the surface, the bodies had been exposed. “Heh! Speakin’ of warmin’ up …” Cayde said, chuckling a little, looking over his shoulder at me.

“Huh?” I asked and Cayde shifted to the side and pointed to two skeletons who were fused with the rock, both of them pressed together in what appeared to be a rather compromising position. “Whoa,” I uttered. That was … That had to just be a strange accident that they were stuck together like that. I think.

“Now that’s how I wanna go out,” Cayde nodded. 

“Yeah?” I asked, smirking. “Which one is you?”

Cayde looked at them, head tilting from side to side as he pondered, then he shrugged. “Does it really matter? Either way’s a good time!” He winked and I laughed again, giving him a gentle little shove, appreciating him keeping up the humor. It was a lot like it had been back on the Dreadnaught, only now he was right here with me. I wanted to hug him. I wanted to thank him; to tell him how much it really meant. That I knew he was on edge, too, but was keeping up a façade just to help me and Ghost, and that I really appreciated it. Unfortunately, it was too tight a space for a hug and a lousy time to have a deep conversation about the past. It would have to wait until later. We needed to keep our guard up as best we could. 

“I love you, you know that?” I softly told him, instead.

His expression was a bit confused and he tilted his head. “I love you, too, babe,” he told me as if it were a given. Then it suddenly seemed to dawn on him why I’d said it. He smiled, reaching back, lightly rubbing my arm, and nodded, then turned back around and continued leading us through the dark tunnel. We could hear things moaning and shifting around in the dark. Hear light splashes in water and low chittering, as if whatever was there was communicating with others like it, the sounds echoing off the walls in a way that made it nearly impossible to tell where exactly they were coming from. “Definitely scratching this place off the weekend getaway list,” Cayde stated. “Cramped. No sun. Can’t work on my tan.”

I smirked at the tan comment. “Yeah, it’s not exactly my taste, either. Too chilly and the other guests here are noisy,” I agreed, playing along. “Makes me wonder what the management’s like.”

I heard him softly chuckle. “Bet they’re real cranky with no sense of humor.”

“Bet the room service is lacking, too,” I added.

“Eergh,” Cayde groaned. “Don’t mention room service. All I can think-a is eggs. Ew.”

I snickered.

The pathway we were following suddenly dropped down in front of us and, once we got down on the lower tier, we could see Hive worms squirming around in the dark in small tunnels under the upper path, their boneless bodies flopping around in the water, their yellow-green eyes blankly staring in our direction. 

They must have been what was making all the sounds. 

”And, look at that. Unsupervised kids in the pool. Yup, this place is terrible,” Cayde nodded making me laugh again.

Instead of going in where the worms were, we went back up onto another ledge nearby that took us back up onto the main path and followed it a short ways before we came out on the other side, right into the immensely vast, hollowed out core of the Moon and face to face with the Pyramid.

“Cayde …” I uttered in disbelief at what I was seeing as I looked up into the murky and sickly bile-colored mist that surrounded it, hundreds of red Phantoms floating all around it like a morbid shield, protecting it. The Pyramid itself was so immense, the top of it seemed to nearly disappear into the darkness high above, making it appear as if it went on forever into the blackness. It hadn’t seemed this big when we first came upon it in the other cave but, then, we’d just been seeing a small part of it. The very top.

Cayde made a low whistling sound, looking straight up, his eyes flowing the sloped side of it. 

“How did it even get in here?” I asked. “It would have had to have broken the Moon’s crust. Wouldn’t it?” I asked him. 

He nodded. “I’d think so.” He looked at me. “Unless it got in here another way.”

I frowned. “A gateway? Like what the Vex use?”

“Maybe.” He looked up at it again. “Or through the Ascendant Plane. A portal. Through the spaces in between spaces. Who knows.” He shook his head. “No tellin’ what the hell this thing really is, what it can do, or what’s inside.”

“Do you remember these things at all? From before?” I asked as I looked at him again. “Any flashes of memory?”

“If what one of the other me’s wrote in the journal is real, then I musta seen ‘em. Seen something. I’d think, anyway.” He shook his head. “But I don’t know. That stuff’s all a blurred mess up here when it comes to details.”

He then looked down and out along the base of where it sat. 

I followed his gaze, blinking, taking a moment to register what I was seeing. “It’s …”

“An unground city,” Cayde quietly finished, his voice laced with bewildered amazement. “Sons -a-bitches built an entire city under here all around it.” He shook his head. “The hell?” He took a step forward to get a better look, crossing over a crack in the ground. I wasn’t sure if it was a coincidence or a trigger, but we suddenly found ourselves under attack, a Knight and several Cursed Thrall charging at us, the Knight roaring, its large sword raised while the Cursed Thrall ambled up beside it. “Really?” Cayde asked and shot one of the Thrall, the explosion setting of a chain reaction that set the other ones off, the Knight in between them getting jarred and badly injured. I lifted my cannon and shot it, point blank, finishing it off.

“Traveler, they’re stupid,” I uttered. 

“Yeah, but that works in our favor,” Cayde pointed out. 

I nodded in agreement and noticed there was a locking seal down in the small open courtyard area before a bridge that led into the city. “Another seal,” I told Cayde, tipping my head toward it. “We need to unlock it to activate the bridge.”

He nodded. “Figured as much,” he said, reloading the Ace.

We stepped down onto it and, not long after hearing the seal activate, Ghost made a low sputtering sound. “The Pyramid,” he strained. “M-my Light …”

“What’s wrong, pal?” Cayde asked him, concerned. 

“It’s happening again,” Ghost told him. 

“Focus,” Eris cut in over the comm. “The Pyramid distracts. Nothing more. When you have the Cryptoglyph in hand, I will teleport you out.”

Thrall began screeching off in the darkness, their rickety bodies charging toward us, nearly surrounding us, Acolytes joining them, firing their weapons at us and Cursed Thrall hissing, their glowing heads signaling their emergence from the dark surrounding us. “Here we go again,” Cayde said, and he and I put our backs to each other and began firing right back at them. “So, tell us, Eris, your whole time down here in the dark, you never ran inta this thing in some way or picked up on the bad vibe it’s puttin’ out?”

“There is much that goes unseen in the dark,” Eris replied. “As for the ‘vibe’ … There is only one ‘vibe’ down in these depths. Death.”

“Ah, yeah, I get that. But I’m trynna figure somethin’ out.” Cayde grunted, stabbing a Thrall that managed to get too close. “If this thing’s been here this whole time, and you were down here but saw nothin like we’re seein’ now - didn’t pick up on anything - that probably means it was stayin’ outta sight, waiting. Right? Or -”

“It was activated,” I finished, looking over my shoulder in his direction. “When the Traveler woke.” A Thrall screeched and leapt at me and I punched it, my fiery fist burning it. 

“Bingo,” Cayde replied. “Cause you’ve been goin’ after bad guys left and right the last few years, Ais. Gone toe to toe with some seriously _powerful_ bad guys. Even right here on the Moon. Nothin’. But now - ” he grunted again, taking out what appeared to be the last of the Hive surrounding us. “Traveler wakes up and so does this thing? Ain’t no coincidence.”

“It is no secret, the Light and the Darkness are connected,” Eris replied. “You know this.” 

“But you think it was waiting?” I asked Cayde.

“Yup. Oh shit!” I felt Cayde grab me, twisting me around and pushing me over as he laid into my back, a blast making both of us stumble. Cayde hissed and groaned and I turned in his grip, noticing he’d shielded me from an exploding Thrall. 

“Aislin? Cayde?” Eris asked with worry.

“We’re okay … somewhat,” I answered. I winced when I saw the damage to Cayde’s side, his armor torn and burned away, his body underneath damaged and bleeding. That Thrall had managed to get way too close. “Cayde … I’m the Titan, sweetheart,” I affectionately told him, holding him up as Ghost healed him.

“Eeeh. Wasn’t thinkin’ anything but you not gettin hurt,” he groaned, his side and armor gradually reforming with Ghost’s efforts. “Ooooh, thanks, Little Buddy,” he sighed, stretching a bit.

“Anytime, Cayde. You alright?” Ghost asked.

Cayde nodded and fully righted himself looking at me sheepishly. 

“I take the big booms, you’re the sneaky one who knifes ‘em in the face,” I reminded, affectionately booping his horn with my finger, chuckling a little.

“Oooooh. Riiiiight. Right,” Cayde nodded. “Kinda forgot there. I mean, with our Light bein’ joined and me gettin’ to, uh, _swing_ your hammer from time to time, I sometimes forget,” he played, raising his arms, flexing a bit for me. 

I chuckled and reached out, testing his bicep. “Mmm. Very sexy, handsome.”

“Yeah? Think they’re gettin’ bigger?” He asked, looking at it. 

“Hmmm. Maybe. Show me later when you can strut around shirtless,” I nodded, making him chuckle. We both knew his body couldn’t change that way. He was built how he was built. But there was no question he was stronger. Both of us were with our Light joined. Still, didn’t hurt to stroke his ego.

A low echoing click pulled us out of the little moment, signaling the completion of the bridge into the city and I looked over to see the air all around us was now rippling with that same dark mist we’d seen in the other tunnels, the Phantoms having shifted down lower, some hanging directly over the bridge, all of them staring at us.

Cayde leaned in close to me. “You, uh … you ever have that dream where you’re standin’ up in front of a buncha people, about to make a speech, and look down and realize you’re totally naked?” He whispered.

“Getting that feeling, huh?” I asked.

“More like just thinkin’ that’d be less unsettling,” he replied. “Not to mention I’d probably get a few cheers.” 

A smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth and I shook my head. “I think you’d get more than a few,” I assured him. “Watch the bridge. Test it before just walking out on it. Make sure it’s solid.”

“Oh right! Goin after Crota! You fell through that one the first time y - ”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I told him.

“Yeah. You remember? When you - ”

“That. Never. Happened,” I cut him off.

He giggled. 

That had been SO embarrassing. I’d been so focused on going in I didn’t realize the bridge took time to solidify and I went running out - well, more like charging in like an idiot - and fell right through it to my death.

Cayde was still laughing over the comm when I came to after Ghost rezzed me.

Thinking back on it, though … yeah … it was kind of funny. A grin tugged at my lips as I imagined how it must have looked, seeing me just drop like a doofus after attempting to look so tough. I glanced over at him, chuckling a little.

“See? It was funny,” he confirmed. “Use it as a good memory, babe,” he told me, bumping my hip with his.

“I ever tell you how much of a good influence you are?” I asked him.

“Wait a minute. Say that again. Ghost, record it! I wanna play it back for Zavala!” Cayde told him.

I laughed!

Of course, the humor, like before, died down a bit as we approached the bridge. Looking up at the phantoms, there was an odd, seeping melancholy that settled around us. Not only did they look ominous, they looked … sad, almost remorseful, even as they ebbed back the closer we got, hints of unintelligible whispering catching our ears every so often. “This is really weird,” Cayde noted, watching them as I tested the footing of the bridge. Discovering it was, indeed, solid. 

“It’s safe,” I told him, and started carefully walking out across it, the Phantoms easing back even further as we made our way across. 

“Kind of a strange defense,” Ghost noted. “As soon as you approach it, it backs away.”

“Seems more like it’s meant to mess with your head,” I told him.

“They don’t have faces … no clear armor designs … but they all look familiar in some way,” Cayde observed.

When we made it to the other side, we headed up a set of stairs and looked down into the center of the city entrance, the walls and rising structures braced by more angled supports. In the middle there as a red, raised, circular platform, a small object floating a couple feet above it and surrounded by a beam of constant dim green light, dozens of Phantoms hanging in the air far above us like a strange speckled ceiling.

“That’s the Cryptoglyph,” Ghost noted, sounding strained again, as if he were fighting a bad headache. “Grab it.” 

The instant Cayde and I stepped down to do so - and not surprisingly - Hive appeared, including a few Wizards who put a barrier up around the Cryptoglyph so we couldn’t grab hold of it, even if we tried.

“Now it’s a party!” Cayde cheered! “That side, this side?” He asked, gesturing to the two sides for each of us to take. 

“I nodded. “That side, this side,” I confirmed, and the two of us split up and went to town.

Not going to lie, it was tough. We not only had Thrall and Acolytes attacking us from all directions, even some up above us on a raised balcony who were raining down fire that knocked us back a few times, but we also had Wizards and Knights. Powerful ones. My armor was taking serious hits, to the point I was feeling physical injuries from he blasts. When a swarm of Thrall managed to rush me while I was focused on a Wizard, laying into me with their claws, the only thing saving me being completely shredded was Cayde taking them out with his Burning Blades. Even at that, the Wizards didn’t let up, blasting a series of Dark Arc bolts at us strong enough some of the sand beneath our feet turned to small clumps of glass! They were some of the strongest Wizards I’d yet encountered, clearly specialized guards to the Cryptoglyph, prepared to do whatever they had to to keep it out of our hands. There were also Knights unlike any others I’d personally come across before, even on the Dreadnaught. It was the first time I’d seen any with specific painted body designs on their sides and colored cloth tartans adorning their shoulders. And that was where I repaid Cayde for his save by saving him when both Knights zeroed in on him. It took a couple swings of my hammer but they eventually went down

“Not done yet,” Cayde told me, pointing above us to the upper level where there was another Wizard and more Acolytes. I grinned and tossed him my hammer. “Oh - ho - ho!!” Cayde cheered and went bounding up above, shaking the balcony so hard with the hammer slam, he cracked the base, bits of debris falling.

When I jumped up to help him finish them off, I found all the Hive had been disposed of and Cayde doing a victory dance next to a smoldering pile of what I assumed had to have been the final Wizard. “Yeah! Take that three Guardian fireteams! Whoo! Two Guardian team Avalbane and Six kick ass!” Cayde whooped, fist pumping the air before he flipped the hammer around and played it like a guitar, then slammed it into the ground one more time, letting it disappear as he did. “We are awesome!”

“We really got them all?” I asked, looking around, happily surprised. I’d been expecting more resistance in here.

“Course we did. We’re the best!” Cayde nodded, brushing off his arms. I chuckled. “Now, all we got to do is grab the Crypto-thing and head back topside,” he said.

“You ever seen Knights like these ones before? With the paint and tartans?” I asked him, reloading my gun.

“Seen ones similar over the years, yeah. But the tartans these ones were wearing are different. Bet they just mean they were guarding that thing,” he said, pointing to where the Cryptoglyph was hovering, the barrier around it now gone. 

That made sense.

I was suddenly hit in the shoulder by a Dark Arc Bolt and staggered. “What the hell?!” I yelped and looked down at where it came from, seeing another Wizard by the Crytoglyph. And not just any Wizard. Besurith, one of Crota’s daughters. She was joined by a couple Acolytes, who were also firing at us.

“Okay, maybe we’re not the best, yet, but gimme a couple shots,” Cayde nodded, then leapt off the edge of the balcony toward her. “Here, Bessy, Bessy, Bessy!” He called, firing off his cannon.

“He really enjoys antagonizing them, doesn’t he?” Ghost asked.

“He likes the challenge,” I smirked and gave him cover fire, shooting at the Acolytes.

With the second of Crota’s daughters eliminated and the Acolytes dead, I hopped down while Cayde grabbed the Cryptoglyph. “NOW we’re the best, baby!” He cheered. 

“Eris, we have the Cryptoglyph,” Ghost told her. “Teleport us out.” There was no reply.

“Eris?” I tapped the side of my helmet by my ear. “You there?”

The lights all around us suddenly went out and we found ourselves in pure darkness. My eyes instantly went wide and I felt my stomach clench.

“What the?” Cayde uttered.

Ghost flipped a light on for us and, up ahead, a massive wave of Thrall came pouring down the steps. “Run,” Ghost told us. “Now!”

I leapt up onto the air, Arc energy crackling at my right fist, then slammed down right into the heart of the swarm, killing many, the rest being blasted back from the force, clearing a way for Cayde. I stood and turned holding my hand out to him. I didn’t even have to say anything, he was already running through the open path. As soon as he was beside me, he grabbed my hand and we both ran as fast as we could. Everything was now dark. The only way we even saw the bridge was because it had a faint ribbed green glow illuminating it. On either side, bursts of green light appeared, portals opening, Wizards coming out of them shrieking, dark magic being cast at us from both sides. Up ahead, a Tomb Ship screeched out of another portal, taking aim and firing at us. We both leapt out of the way of the blasts but staggered as we found our footing, the bridge shaking from the attack. Cayde aimed his cannon at it, making to fire.

“No, it’s not going to do any good,” I told him. "There’s too many. It’ll slow us down and give them a chance to close in. Just run. Don’t stop. No matter what.”

“Not even t - ”

“Don’t stop!” I told him again.

This was just like that time I was trapped below in the Worlds Grave a couple years ago. And it wasn’t just Hive I had to worry about, but Taken. I was also locked in. And that was my fear here. This was much more dangerous. Much more deadly. If we got trapped in here … No. We weren’t going to get trapped. I couldn’t go through that again but, more importantly, I didn’t want Cayde trapped in here. Not in the dark. Even knowing he would probably be more okay than I would, I still couldn’t let that happen.

I could hear Thrall screeching at our heels, even as we made our way back though the worm infested tunnels where we’d seen the skeletons. And, when we came out on the other side, new Shriekers that had come into the areas we’d already cleared opening up with a threatening purple glow, moaning at us as they fired rapid bolts of Void, one catching my ankle. I grunted, gritting my teeth against the icy burning pain that brought tears to my eyes and kept going, not allowing myself to slow down, even though it felt like acid was burning a hole into my bone.

Portals began opening up on the floor ahead of us, Knights emerging, swords brandished, ready to try and swat us like flies as we ran past them. I held Cayde’s hand tight and dodged and weaved us around them, my eyes staying focused on the path we came in. When a line of Cursed Thrall appeared in front of us, both Cayde and I thought the same and leapt over them. One exploded, setting off the others in an attempt to take us out with them. The air around us shook and we were rattled from the shocks but the overall blast actually propelled us a bit further than we could have jumped, giving us a bit of an advantage. “Ha! That backfired spectacularly,” Cayde said, glancing over his shoulder.

It didn’t do a lot of good, though, getting us out of harms way. Acolytes and more Wizards were up ahead. Cayde yanked me to the left and ran us around a pillar that circled us past the Wizards and out the door behind them and the Acolytes. On the other side, more Thrall appeared, as well as a good number of those creepy shadow crawlers, all of them scurrying about the floor and pillars. All I could think was, if this was what was down here - this vast a number of Hive and how quickly they mobilized - what would an army be like if they attacked us head on? 

There was no way we were prepared.

Behind us, I could hear more than just the regular Thrall. I could hear Cursed Thrall as well, and Knights, all of them taking up chase. Acolyte fire wizzed by our heads, so close I could feel the radiating pulse of the Void. 

I didn’t dare look back. 

The final doorway was flanked by two Wizards and Cayde and I didn’t stop, even when we got hit with their Arc blasts. Yeah, they hurt like hell, but we just kept moving. 

Once we were through the doorway, we could see light up ahead. We were almost there. We jumped up onto the broken stairway and over the gap, racing toward the light, the sounds of the Hive gradually dying down, along with the fire. Even so, we didn’t slow down or stop. We raced for the light until we were finally back out through the broken section of wall the Hive had recently made and were working on, both of us nearly crashing into the railing overlooking the Hellmouth, leaning into it, panting. I yanked my helmet off, gasping for air, just as the trip grenade Cayde had set up before we went in exploded behind us, startling us in the process of killing a couple daring Thrall that had foolishly decided to try and follow us out.

“That’s why … insurance,” Cayde panted, pointing to the doorway.

“Aislin? Cayde?” Eris broke in, her voice unusually soft and laced with deep worry. 

“We’re here,” Ghost answered for us as Cayde and I caught our breaths. “Cryptoglyph and all.”

“I thought you’d … I’m sorry,” Eris replied. “The immense darkness of the Pyramid kept me from you. But we must not waste time. With the Cryptoglyph in hand, we stand a chance against the Pyramid. Bring it here and let us make use of it.”

“On our way,” Cayde said, still panting a bit.

I slumped down to the floor, leaning back against the half-wall railing, staring off into the darkness beyond the doorway we’d just come through. My ankle was searing and throbbing with pain and my lungs burned from fatigue but all I could think was we made it. We hadn’t gotten locked in like last time, and I nearly sobbed with relief. 

“Hey,” Cayde softly uttered, kneeling down beside me, tenderly petting the back of my head. He then seemed to notice blood oozing out from between the plates of armor at my ankle, dripping down the sides onto the ground. “It’s safe, pal. Come on out,” he told Ghost, who came out and healed me, then assessed the rest of my injuries, fixing them as well.

“Aislin?” Ghost asked, floating close to my face. “We made it,” he told me. “It’s okay. We made it.”

I blinked at him and nodded, reaching up, easing him in close to my cheek as I tilted my head against him. “We made it,” I breathed and looked over at Cayde. “You okay?” I asked him.

He nodded, then shifted closer and put his arms around both of us. “We’re safe now,” he whispered. “I gotchya.”

I nodded, leaning my head against his shoulder, tucking Ghost between us as I let that sink in, even as my eyes went back to the darkness beyond the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly can say, this chapter was both fun and frustrating to write as I had to really think about how Cayde would react to some things here, not just based on his past, but also trying to keep some things in the dark not knowing where - if anywhere - Bungie might take his lore later in the story. So I hope I did okay there for all of you and I'll have more soon! Next chapter will likely be a more cuddly one. I know how you all enjoy those! LOL!  
> ~❤️Ais


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly have no idea where this chapter came from. It started out as something COMPLETELY different and evolved into this as I was writing it. Hope you all like it! 
> 
> AND, since today is September 5th (For those who don't know, it's the day Cayde was revived on Enceladus in the first part of For Cayde), I find it strangely fitting this evolved as it did, into a little bit of history surrounding more of who Cayde is and a bit of his past, and that I managed to finish it up in time!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> (PS: Some NSFW parts in here!)

_Two months ago …_

“So, when they said this section was finally accessible …?” I uttered to Cayde as I followed him, ducking and bending myself around some crooked rubble and gnarled rebar in the tight tunnel that had once been an open hallway of the Old Tower. I was suddenly very glad for all the yoga I’d practiced.

“To be fair, the info was given to me by a Sweeper Bot and, technically, as long as they can get through something, it’s considered ‘passable’,” Cayde told me.

“Sooooo …?”

“Totally not safe, could fall on us at any moment,” Cayde replied, nodding.

“Should’ve known,” I muttered, smirking.

“Come onnn, it’s worth it! I know you’ve been wanting to see my old place,” Cayde told me.

“That’s true,” I smiled, then bumped my head on a piece of concrete I hadn’t seen. “Ow.” I winced and rubbed the spot.

“You okay?” Cayde asked, looking back at me. 

“Yes,” I sighed, slightly embarrassed.

“I’m the one with the metal head. Only I’m allowed to knock it inta stuff,” he told me, making me smirk.

“Finally admits he’s hardheaded,” Ghost said.

“Realistic and practical?” Cayde asked.

“No, stubborn,” Ghost corrected.

“Mmm. And, uh, how many years have you been waiting for me to ‘admit’ that?” Cayde asked.

“How long have I known you?” Ghost asked.

“Six years.”

“Then that’s - wait,” Ghost muttered, his shell twitching with realization.

Cayde’s faceplates shifted into a knowing grin at Ghost and he held out his hand for me to take. “Watch your step here, darlin’. Floor’s a bit … touchy. Comin’ Little Buddy?” He asked Ghost as he helped me over the cracked floor.

“I loathe you,” Ghost familiarly harrumphed at him, obviously not meaning a word of that as he floated past Cayde defiantly, both of us snickering.

“He loves me,” Cayde scoffed, his voice caked with witty amusement. “Totally loves me.” Ghost just made a little begrudging chirp as I laughed.

When we finally made it to Cayde’s apartment, the doors were sealed and the normally softly glowing bar light that illuminated the frame was completely burnt out and cracked in several places. Blackened burn marks, scratches, and dents from debris that had exploded and collapsed around the area littered the door itself, but had not managed to break it open. We noticed where Frames had pulled back and removed what had been blocking the doors since that fateful night Ghaul invaded and attacked the City. Ikora and Zavala’s old places had already been cleared a couple weeks ago but, for Cayde, his place was two levels below theirs and it had taken the Frames longer to get to. 

“Why didn’t you have a room on the same level as Ikora and Zavala?” Ghost asked him, looking over the area. It did have kind of a basement vibe.

Cayde glanced over his shoulder at Ghost. “The room up there was Andal’s,” he simply said, which explained it all. It had been too painful for him to stay in it. Ghost made a little bob in understanding and Cayde turned back around, pulling out a small hacking device, and popped open the keypad to the right of the door, exposing the wires behind it. Hooking up a couple small clawed clamps from the device to the wires, he activated the keypad, giving it power, the image flickering and distorted from being broken. Cayde frowned and checked it, then punched a couple familiar numbers into the device: 5982. 

“That was the frequency code for the stealth drive,” Ghost noted. “Does it have a special meaning?” He asked.

Cayde looked at me, then up at Ghost before he pointed to the illuminated numbers on the tiny screen. “Five. The man I was before. Nine. The Wildcard. Eight. My infinite love. Two. … Ace and my Queen.” He softly smiled at me then leaned over and gave me a tender kiss. I smiled against his lips and realized how special that number was for him. He winked at me. “Ghost and I are the only ones who know that number, aren’t we?” I asked him and he nodded then turned back to the door and pressed the enter button. The doors creaked and the gap between them popped open a bit with a loud, tooth-clenching screech that made me wince, Ghost even curling his shell a bit at the sound. It didn’t take long for the doors to stop, jammed up on their tracks. “Damn,” Cayde muttered and handed me the keypad, stepping in front of them. He rubbed his hands together then slipped them between the crack and forced them apart, the doors groaning and squeaking even more in protest, a couple sparks flying out from above. I watched, unable to help grinning a little as my eyes roamed over his arms and back as he worked the strong doors apart, actually leaving slight hand impressions in the metal from how tightly he’d gripped it. It was very impressive to say the least! Cayde rarely showed his actual physical strength but, when he did, I couldn’t help but feel a flutter of excitement deep down. He looked over his shoulder at me, both eyebrows rising a bit before he made a snorting sound, apparently guessing what it was he’d sensed from me. 

The light inside the apartment flickered on, spazzing a bit before it remained on, and Cayde looked inside. “Ah! Still working! Great!” He got between the doors and used his back and legs to force them open further, making it easier for us to step inside, then looked over at me once again. “I know it’s, uh, a bit late an’ all for this, but, um, care to come in for a cup of coffee?” He joked, tilting his head inside.

I looked him up and down. “Okay,” I nodded then pointed at him. “But no funny business.”

“From me?” Cayde innocently asked as he gestured to himself. “I’m a total gentleman!”

“Right,” Ghost skeptically stated.

Cayde led us inside and, despite the damage outside, inside was pretty well secured. There were some cracks in the walls and dust, some things having gotten knocked over from the force of the blast and the Tower shaking, but it was in pretty good shape, all things considered. The apartment itself was small - much smaller than my apartment had been - but it was cozy.

It was also a bit messy in ways that had nothing to do with the attack from Ghaul.

“Huh. Guess the housekeeping Frame didn’t show up. Dude owes me fifty glimmer,” Cayde noted, looking around himself.

“Housekeeping Frame? You?” I asked.

“Not believable?” Cayde asked, shaking his head. “Hm. How ‘bout the little floor rover bot being broken?” He offered instead, swirling his finger at the floor.

I arched an eyebrow at him, smirking skeptically. 

“I told you I was messy!” He said, throwing his hands up. "You knew before we were married! No takesy-backsies!”

I laughed and hugged him, shaking my head. “You’re cute.” I gave him a kiss. “You know I don’t care, right?” I really didn’t. It wasn’t even messy because of him, really, it was all from the attack and not being able to get in here for a couple years and even at that, it wasn’t bad. He was just nervous about me seeing it. Meanwhile, I was just excited to be here and finally get another glimpse into who Cayde was - something I’d missed out on. It was actually a bit surreal to know I was standing in _his_ place. I’d always known him to just be around the Tower, or our special spot, or at my place. To imagine Cayde with a place of his own was difficult so now, to see it and be in it, it was thrilling.

“Well, least I have a good excuse, right?,” he smirked, slipping his arms around me. “Still …” He looked around and shrugged. “Bit embarrassing. Would’ve liked you to have been able to visit when it was nice. Well … nic-ER. And I swear I did take care of those plants before Gary rolled into town. They totally weren’t already dead before that,” he told me with a nod, pointing at some dried up plants on a built in sill in the wall behind a simple metal frame, red cushioned couch. 

I laughed again. “It’s not that bad,” I assured him, Ghost and I looking around. I noted the unfortunate demise of the plants that apparently Cayde had forgotten to water even before the attack. There were also some small stacked crates in the corner beside the couch that appeared to hold either ammo or parts, or a bit of both, but it was hard to tell since things were just tossed inside. Cayde also had a lot of books, which didn’t surprise me at all. Unfortunately, a good number of them had fallen off their shelves into a large pile covered in a few cobwebs from having sat so long.

As I looked around some more, I gradually eased out of his arms, wandering around the small space. I smirked when I saw some gun racks on the wall next to what I assumed was the doorway to a small bathroom. Some of the guns secured in them were rare and unusual, a few Fallen style, some that actually appeared to be Awoken - no doubt obtained working for the Queen and alongside Petra. There were also a few that I was pretty sure weren’t entirely ‘legal’. In fact, I was _damned_ sure I saw a cannon that should not be there. In fact, it shouldn’t even exist. Only way I even had any idea of what it could possibly be was because of stories I’d read about in weapons history. “Cayde …” I pointed to it and looked at him questioningly. He gave me a sideways glance. “Is that…?”

“Shhhhhhhh,” he gently cut me off, a finger to his lips.

My jaw dropped as I realized it was! It _did_ exist! “If Zavala finds out you have that …” I gently cautioned.

“What makes you think he _doesn’t_ know I have it? Or Ikora for that matter?” Cayde asked. 

I frowned. “Wait … you mean … ?”

“It was banned by the Vanguard so regular Guardians can’t have it or use it. As the records on it suggest, it _doesn’t exist_.”

“So why do you have it?” Ghost asked.

“Have what?” Cayde pointedly asked him.

“Right,” Ghost grumbled, twitching a bit.

I looked back over at the gun, then at Cayde, then at the gun again, frowning. Why, of all people, would Cayde be the one to have that gun? If it was banned by the Vanguard and, technically ‘didn’t exist’, I would think it would be locked away in the Vanguard Weapons Vault not just hanging out in Cayde’s apartment. It was banned for a reason. What it could do was just too dangerous. In fact, based on what I knew about it, it was banned and later supposedly ‘destroyed’ because of a rumored Crucible inci - My eyes widened and I looked over at Cayde who had wandered over into his small kitchenette. “Noooooo!” I stated, stunned as he just glanced back at me innocently, leaning over the half-island that jutted out form the wall.

“No? No what?” Ghost asked, looking between us.

“You’re the reason it’s banned!” I whisper-hissed with a mix of shock and excitement as I pointed a finger at him. “You used it in the Crucible and it gave you an advantage. Shaxx was _pissed_ when he saw what you had and accused you of cheating! I’ve heard the stories but never put them together!”

Cayde just looked at me, his right cheek plate lifting ever so slightly in a tiny smirk as I figured it out.

“That was you?!” Ghost sputtered.

“Are you really surprised?” Cayde asked, giving Ghost a skeptical look.

“Hmm. Actually, no,” Ghost agreed.

“You knew we were going to see it here,” I said. “You couldn’t openly say anything, so you let us find it,” I surmised.

Cayde nodded as he stood back up, still leaning over the island a bit, hands resting on the countertop. “The rumor is - and I’m sure you know - it and another weapon were fashioned by a Guardian who went mad. For a long time, they were just … a myth. So, one day, me and the crew get this job that ended up where we made a deal with an Archon for some weapons. Job went south real fast, big gun fight, blew up a Ketch, I was totally and unjustly blamed.” I snickered. Of course he was. “Anyway, one-a the things we salvaged from the wreckage was this sealed cache. When we broke it open …” he gestured to the Crimson.

“And you ended up with it,” I said.

“Yup,” Cayde affirmed. “I didn’t know what it was when I found it. None of us did. It was just a really cool gun and, well, you know me and cool guns. It was actually my big go to cannon for many years before coming to the City. Then the Crucible thing happened and I got a good slap on the wrist, a ban from participating for five years, a serious talking to from Zavala, a history lesson from Ikora, and a threat that if I ever brought it out again, not only would it be melted down, but so would I.”

“Ouch,” Ghost grunted.

“You were banned form going into the Crucible for five years?” I asked. Ouch was right.

Cayde nodded. “Yeah. But, hey, wasn’t a total loss on my part. Made some good bets, won some glimmer, annoyed the hell outta Shaxx. Can’t complain,” he shrugged.

I smiled again. “So … why did they let you keep it if it was so dangerous? Cause you were a Vanguard?” I asked.

“Oh no,” Cayde shook his head, waving his hand. “I wasn’t in the Vanguard then. Andal was. He vouched for me and convinced Ikora and Zavala to let me keep it as a memento since it had been my gun for so long and I’d been using it for ‘good’ up until I basically showboated in the Crucible.” He sighed. “Knew I’d pushed that too far,” he admitted, shaking his head before clearing his throat. “Someone coulda really gotten hurt in the not come back way and that would’ve been on me.” I frowned, a little sad for him, knowing he’d never done it with intent to actually hurt someone badly. “Anywhoo,” he continued, “the catch to me being able to keep it was that it had to be decommissioned. You can’t fire it. In fact, you can’t even get a clip into it. Banshee rigged it so a gunsmith would have to rework the entire weapon to get it to load and fire again. Right now it’s just a pretty decoration hanging on the wall. And, as far as anyone outside the Vanguard knows - save you, and Ghost, of course - it was destroyed and any mention of what it was I used in that, er, incident, has been stricken from the records. _But_ something good came of it all.” He smiled. “I came up with a new cannon design more suited to myself to replace it, and that’s how Banshee made me the Ace. Been my cannon now far longer than that one was and a far better one to boot. That hunk-a metal right there,” he said, gesturing to the Crimson, “that’s just a relic of who I was. I kept it here to remind myself not to go back to bein’ that guy.”

“Just like how the Ace is a representation of who you strive to be every day,” I smiled.

“Bingo, babe,” he nodded, pointing at me.

“So what are you going to do with it now?” Ghost asked of the Crimson. “Are you going to bring it back home with us?”

Cayde looked at it for a few beats then shook his head. “Nah. Think I’m gonna give it to Zavala and let him do whatever he wants with it. I don’t need it anymore.”

I looked at him with pride and stepped around the island, giving him a hug. “You’re one hell of a good man, Cayde.”

“Shh. Don’t tell anyone. Gotta keep the bad boy rep up,” he winked at me, making me giggle.

It was then I noticed the coffee pot on the counter next to us, half full of old coffee that had been in there since the time of the attack and was now a gross, moldy, dried up sludge stuck to the pot itself. “Ew,” I uttered.

“Huh?” Cayde grunted and looked at what I’d seen.

“I think you’ve actually got something living in there, Cayde,” I told him, making a grossed out face as I tapped the side of the glass with my fingernail.

“Hmm. Maybe I should make you a fresh pot?” Cayde offered.

I looked at him skeptically. “Baby, I love you,” I told him, then pointed to the pot. “But there isn’t enough bleach in all the universe that would make me feel safe enough to drink anything out of that thing.”

Cayde pulled the pot out of the holder and examined it, scrunching up his face in disgust. “Actually, y’know what? I’m with ya on that,” he nodded, putting the pot back. “We’ll file that under the stuff the demo crew can burn,” he said and I chuckled. “How ‘bout some bourbon instead? If the bottles didn’t get broken, I should have a couple here somewhere.” He gave me a kiss then ducked down to look through the cabinets under the island.

“Bourbon will be fine,” I nodded then turned around, noticing Ghost was looking at some paintings that were leaning up against a wall, a couple of them looking like they'd once been hung up but had fallen off the wall, likely in the attack. I went over to Ghost and stood with him, looking at the paintings while Cayde continued to poke through his cabinets.

“Cayde? Did you paint all of these?” Ghost asked. 

“Huh?” Cayde asked. There was a pause. “Oh, yeah-yeah.” I heard another cupboard open and a couple metal cups being set on the counter followed by a clink of glass as Cayde poured the bourbon. I crouched down, looking at the pieces, all of them stunning and vibrant landscapes from the Wilds. Cayde’s talent in sketching and painting was just … it was impeccable. All of the pieces … they told a story though Cayde’s eyes over the centuries of walking both the destruction and the beauty of this world. Hundreds of sunrises and sunsets. Once grand, impressive and shining cities now broken and rusted, but covered with the green life of the world as it rebuilt itself and used the metal bones of the structures to climb toward the sun.

“Wow,” Ghost uttered. 

Wow was right. They were even more impressive than the maps and sketches Cayde had stored back at our place.

“Cayde, these are beyond beautiful,” I told him, hearing him coming up behind us. I looked up at him as he crouched down next to me, handing me a cup. 

“Thanks,” he said, a bit shyly and I smiled, sipping some of the bourbon, savoring the warmth as it trickled down my throat. 

“I’m glad they weren’t destroyed,” I added.

“Me, too,” he admitted, shifting to sit down with me. “I was pretty sad after the war, thinkin’ they were lost. Some of ‘em are a good five hundred years old.”

I blinked. “Five … _hundred_?”

“Well, babe, don’t forget, I’d been roamin’ around out there since the late Dark Ages.”

“Right,” I nodded. “I just …” I shook my head. “I forget sometimes,” I admitted.

“That I’m old?” He asked, lightly chuckling.

I smiled, leaning back into him, tilting my head to rest next to his. “You’ll never be old,” I assured him.

“Of course not. He’s perpetually twelve,” Ghost teased.

“Oh, I think Ais would agree I’m a bit older than that,” he hintingly purred in my ear, giving it a playful nibble, making me giggle as I squirmed away a bit. 

“You’re terrible,” I told him, slapping at his chest. He lowly chuckled. “So,” I said, looking at the paintings again. “Might be a silly question but, we are taking all these home, right? I’d really like to hang some of them up if that’s okay.”

“Yeah, yeah sure,” Cayde nodded, and smiled in a way that looked as if he was surprised I liked them so much.

“In all seriousness, Cayde,” Ghost said to him, “they really are magnificent.”

“Thanks, pal,” Cayde said, his smile broadening, pride washing over him. 

“What got you into painting?” Ghost asked.

“Eh,” Cayde shrugged. “Started out as just little sketches of people I met, buildings around the villages, flowers and animals I saw out in the Wilds. Some stuff I drew while writing in my journal if the creative bug made me so inclined. Then …” He frowned. “Can’t really remember. Somehow I ended up with some paints. Watercolors. I wanna say Lush gave ‘em to me,” he uttered, trying to recall. He shook his head. “Anyway, I started coloring the sketches I’d done. Was terrible at it at first. Totally soaked and ruined some stuff I’d drawn. Had this one drawing I’d done of a dog and by the time I was done, looked like a lump of mud with feet.” 

I laughed. “That bad?”

“Oh, I’m bein’ generous,” he chuckled. “But, yeah, it took me a while to figure it out. Eventually I got the hang of it, though. Started really enjoying it. Wasn’t till a few years after the City started forming and people from all over showed up that I found new types of paints. Liked the thicker, pasty texture of the stuff they were makin’. Let me give some dimension to stuff. So I played around with that. That’s how I ended up with that kit you found in my chest. Used that for a long time. Painted all-a these with it,” he said, gesturing to the paintings. “Usedta sit out there in the Wilds, takin’ it all in. Wasn’t so much what I saw but what I felt out there. That’s what I was really painting. The way it made me feel.”

“It was your home,” I quietly stated and he nodded. “And you hung these up all around in here so it felt like you were back out there, hm?” I asked.

Again, he nodded. “Still, nothin’ beats actually bein’ out there.” He kissed my temple. “S’what made that cabin such an amazing and special gift. Now, don’t get me wrong. This is home. Here, with you and Ghost. You made it finally feel like that. And I love the City and the people. But it’s always so good to be back out there where it all started for me. There’s just nothin’ like it.”

“Have you really been everywhere there is to be on this planet?” I asked.

“Just about. There are some places that are just suicide to go, even for a Guardian. Places the Cabal or Fallen have totally taken over. Some places the Hive got hold of. And, course, there’s the old cities that, unless you’re an Exo, even bein’ a Guardian, the radiation still lingerin’ in some of those places will kill ya as fast as your Ghost can rez ya.”

“I didn’t know that about the old cities,” I said, shaking my head.

“Oh yeah,” Cayde nodded. “When the Collapse happened, people were all pretty much wiped out. A lot of the destruction, though, happened cause people weren’t around anymore to take care of things and places that had dangerous equipment and machines that needed to be maintained blew up and burned. There were places that still used radioactive stuff. Even some of the earliest ships used for the Colonies had contained nuclear reactor cores for energy. A lotta that? BOOM!” He said, throwing his arms out a little in emphasis. “The stuff that didn’t go boom? All that eventually leaked out and seeped into everything around it.”

“And you saw all this?” Ghost asked. “In your travels?”

“The after stuff, yeah, I’m an Exo,” Cayde shrugged. “I could go all through those places. I just couldn’t spend a lot of time there. Wouldn’t kill me but it could affect my systems and make me a danger to be around if I was exposed to it for too long - it’d get into my body and make others around me sick - so I didn’t stay. Sundance would keep an eye on me while I was checking places out. When levels hit a certain point and she told me to get out, I did. After a couple trips, just decided it wasn’t worth it. Wasn’t like there was anything in any of those places I could take with me. It was all too loaded with radiation. Way too dangerous.”

“So what were you doing in there?” Ghost asked.

“Just looking,” Cayde said. “I wanted to see what it all looked like before. See if anything triggered any memories from stuff I’d maybe seen or places I’d been to before.”

“Did they?” I asked.

“No,” he shook his head. “But it wasn’t wasted. You really got a sense of how amazing it all once was.” He sipped some of his bourbon then set the cup aside and leaned forward around me, looking through some of the paintings, finding one to show me. “Here we go,” he said as he handed me a small painting in a simple black frame that he’d done in watercolor. It was of a nearly barren street, now completely green with an expanding carpet of mosses and grass that had taken over the asphalt. There was a jagged crack right through the middle of the street, splitting it in two - likely from an earthquake or the Collapse itself. At the end of the street, a couple old vehicles sat, clearly abandoned in a hurry, one with doors left wide open, the bodies rusted and falling apart, vines growing up over the hoods. The buildings on either side actually had small trees growing up through the foundations and off balconies, roots winding around anything they could get hold of to secure the trees as they bent and twisted up toward any sunlight they could get. A single skyscraper with a layered scalloped top, finished off by a fine needle point stood off in the background, the sky and smokey clouds dimmed with brownish tones that cast an eerily lonely feel over the whole scene, despite its strange beauty. 

“Wow,” I uttered.

“Yeah,” Cayde nodded.

“This was one of the big cities that was built back long before the Golden Age,” Ghost stated. “I recognize the building. I once looked for you there,” he told me.

“It was called New York,” Cayde told us. 

“The city we see in some of the films we watch,” I said and he nodded. “You’ve actually seen it?” I asked him. I didn’t know that.

“Mm hmm,” Cayde nodded again. “What’s left of it. But, even though it’s in ruins now, you can still see what it was.”

“And what it might be again some day,” I added, smiling, remembering what he’d once told me about why he loved the old cities; of the beauty he saw in the destruction.

“Exactly,” he whispered then gave me a soft kiss, pressing his forehead to mine, and I just knew he loved that I understood him so easily.

We sat together for a while longer, finishing our drinks and looking over more of the paintings, just quietly talking about them as Cayde reminisced and told us of his travels. It was funny, Ghost recognized a few more places by landmarks Cayde had in some of the paintings and they both spoke familiarly of visiting the same spots and recalling the landscapes and the wonder of what it was all like long ago. I suddenly realized, of all the planets I’d been to, it was my own home planet I knew the least and Cayde and Ghost both picked up on that, Cayde promising me he’d take me out and around to some of the safer places he’d been to so I could see them for myself. I was really excited about that and gave him a hug, thanking him. I was also excited to hang the paintings up around our place. They were just far too beautiful to put away in a closet or something. They should be out where people could enjoy them. “You have a rare talent, Cayde,” I told him. “You don’t just see with your eyes, you see with your heart.”

He was quiet, lightly pressing his face to the side of my head.

“You okay?” I asked. Maybe I’d gotten a bit too sentimental for him?

“I was trynna think of a witty reply to that but then I realized you were right. I really am that awesome,” he murmured and I laughed, reaching back, petting the side of his head as I kissed him once more. He smiled and winked at me and the look said everything. He’d appreciated what I’d said and it meant a lot. I could sense it. And both of us knew nothing else needed to be said.

“So, uh …” Cayde shyly began as we got to our feet. He leaned up against the nearby wall, hands braced on it behind him, lifting one leg, bending his knee as he settled his foot on the wall as well. “I know it’s your first time here at my place an’ all but … I was wondering if maybe you’d like to … check out my bedroom?” He coyly asked me, tilting his head to a door next to him as he looked at me with a sly expression.

I grinned, holding my bottom lip between my teeth, and played along. “Pretty bold, there, Mr. Vanguard,” I purred back, leaning up against the wall on the opposite side of the doorway as him, looking over at him. “You ask all the girls that on the first date?”

Cayde sifted to his side, like me, now leaning his shoulder against the wall, looking back at me. “Actually … I’ve never had any other girls here,” he quietly told me.

I was intrigued. “That so?” I asked. I shifted closer, leaning against the door frame, tilting closer to him. “And why is that?” I whispered. “Are you shy?” I grinned.

He snorted, curling up a little. “No,” he shook his head, smiling back. “Just waitin’ for that … special someone.” He looked me up and down, then pushed himself off the wall and stepped closer to me. “You’re really very … very pretty,” he murmured, curling his index finger as he tenderly trailed it down the side of my cheek. “You know that?”

“Smooth talker,” I grinned.

He leaned in close and whispered in my ear: “That’s not the only thing that’s smooth.”

I closed my eyes shivering a bit, biting at my bottom lip again. “Mmm. Dirty talker, too,” I purred back.

Cayde lowly growled in my ear and I felt the tip of his tongue, hot and wet, curl under my lobe and coax it between his lips where he very carefully nibbled on it. “Mmmm, you think that’s dirty, wait till you get me goin’.”

“You want me to getchya goin’, hm?” I pet his at sides then tugged him closer, my hands possessively on his hips. 

His eyebrows rose. “That’s a good start,” he rumbled, leaning into me.

I grinned and turned my head, slowly, softly kissing along his jaw, teasingly circling the tip of my tongue around one of the raised bolts. Cayde shudderingly moaned and tilted his head back and to the side as I worked my way lower, placing tender, lingering kisses down the side of his neck, the musky scent of his cologne tickling my nose, sending an excited thrill through me. “Seems more like I’m making you melt, dirty boy,” I proudly stated, feeling him lean into me even more.

“No I’m not,” Cayde happily sighed, eyes still closed, head still tilted. “Floor’s … uneven. Stupid Gary knocked my quarters off kilter.” 

I snickered. “Oh. Right. My mistake. Here … let me … try harder,” I cooed and slid my palms down over his exquisitely formed ass, eliciting yet another low, throaty moan from him as his head dropped to my shoulder. His hands slide up my arms, his thumbs moving in slow, deliberate circles, gently massaging. Breathing him in, I sighed at the pleasantness of his touches and how good it felt to have him so close. He lifted his head and looked at me, his aqua eyes alit like blue fire, and I was elated that I was the cause of that look. 

Wordlessly, he leaned back in, capturing my lips once again, his hands letting me go and strong, loving arms sliding up around me, enveloping me. I pressed into his chest, whimpering softly, draping my arms over his shoulders and deepening the kiss. I gasped into his mouth in surprise as he picked me up and pushed me against the wall. “Cayde …” I reverently breathed, lifting my legs and wrapping them around his waist, my hands pawing at the back of his head, fingertips tracing along the familiar hard edges and curves. I felt his right arm loosen around me and his hand slowly slide down my side and hip to my thigh, squeezing gently as he groaned, the heat between us building, as well as the bulge in his pants! He slowly rocked into me, lowly growling with desire as I keened between kisses, panting softly. I held his face in my hands, my tongue darting out to taste his lips. He opened his mouth, letting me explore, his own tongue darting back to meet mine, lowly chuckling at me when I grinned at his playfulness. I looked down into his eyes, petting his cheeks as I took in how beautifully handsome his face was, savoring every last feature as he looked back at me. His expression was one of awe - admiration it even seemed - and I felt so undeserving of such a look, even from him.

He quickly dispelled any further thoughts along those lines when he started kissing my neck, and I felt him shift us both, grunting as he blindly reached for something, lightly banging at the wall beside us a couple times before apparently finally hitting the right spot, getting the door to open.

Next thing I knew, I was laying on something soft but firm and Cayde was on top of me, his hand under my shirt massaging my breast, his lips back on mine, moaning hungrily! I pawed at him, anywhere and everywhere I could touch. Eventually, I pushed him back a little, both of us panting, and grabbed at the waist of his pants, tugging at them to get them undone. He helped me, our hands shaking with both excitement and urgency and, as soon as they were undone, he dove back in, kissing me again, groaning into my mouth as he pulled at the waist of my leggings. I lifted my hips and he broke the kiss to sit up and get them and my underwear off, tossing both aside.

All I could remember after that was his lips on me, careful and loving as he worked his tongue over my clit, moaning again, the vibration of his deep voice sending thrills all though my core! I arched and moaned as his hands slid up and down my sides and thighs, getting me to drape my legs over his shoulders. He lightly squeezed my hips and raked his fingers over my ass. “Cayde!” I gasped again, thrashing back and forth! He didn’t let up. In fact, he only increased his efforts until I was babbling incoherently, writhing and keening with need, my cheeks flushed, before giving in and crying out, tensing and trembling slightly as the orgasm washed through me, a light sheen of sweat all over my skin, goosebumps rising from both the thrill of it all and how cool the room suddenly felt as I slowly calmed.

Cayde glared up at me, predatorily, his tongue darting out to lick at shiny, wet lips as he crawled up my body like a hungry cat, undoing his pants the rest of the way and wriggling them down, his erection springing free. I grinned, biting at my bottom lip, feeling a whole new wave of excitement bubbling up. Cayde settled on top of me, kissing me, wrapping me up in his arms, letting me taste myself on his mouth. I groaned, holding the sides of his head, feeling him shift his hips and rock forward, pushing himself inside me. I gasped and grabbed at his backside, pulling him down needfully, rocking my own hips up into him.

It was wild, unguarded, even a bit feral. He growled and pushed himself up, bracing himself on his arms, pounding his hips into me. I panted, looking up at him, one arm draped over the back of his neck while my free hand was pressed over his heart, feeling the rhythmic swishing grow faster and faster. I watched his expressions as he became completely lost to pleasure, his eyes closed, his head lolling back and forth in both frustrated and elated need for release that was slowly building! His features twisted in contradictory wild abandon and careful concentration, eyebrows furrowing, the teal plates around his mouth moving back in a way that suggested, if he were human, he’d be gritting his teeth. His breath, hard and fast, hissed past his lips and he moaned, lowering his forehead to touch it to mine. “Ais,” he panted, his breath hot on my face. “Fuck … so … so close. Make me … _please_ ,” he begged and I tilted my head up, kissing him again as I squeezed around him as tight as I could, pushing up into him.

He grunted and whimpered, his hips slowing some, but each thrust more demanding until he jerked his head back and cried out, his body tensing, the artificial muscles in his arms and abdomen taught and trembling as he rode out every last blissful second. Eventually, he weakly collapsed just off to my right so he wouldn’t crush me, leaving me grinning as I pet at the back of his head and neck, savoring every last second of watching him drift in post-coital bliss, the look on his slack features totally serene.

“Wait, so who’s this?” I asked, pointing to a young woman with spiky dark hair standing beside Shiro in an old digital inlay polycarbonate photo. “I thought it as just the four of you?” 

“That’s Nian,” Cayde softly told me. 

We were laying together, cuddled up on the makeshift bed on the floor that was more like a traditional shikibuton bedroll, Cayde’s arms around me, every now and again kissing and nuzzling me as we looked through old photos Cayde had pulled out of a small dresser he’d had in the corner of the room. 

“Who is she?” I asked. 

Cayde chuckled. “Jealous?” He asked. I smirked and gave his side a light tickle, making him squirm and chuckle even more. “She was a Hunter and part of the crew,” he confirmed. “She, uh …” He took a breath, slowly letting it out. “Shiro, Lush, Nian, and myself, we were on a job. Was supposed to be a simple one. Go in, kill all the Fallen, take the resources and loot, turn it in, get our cut. Nothin’ we hadn’t done a hundred times before. But, uh … Taniks ambushed us.” I frowned, sadly, turning my head to look at him. He smiled a little and shrugged, then shook his head. “I don’t think she felt a thing, it was so quick. He, uh …” Cayde’s eyes drifted off to the side. "Took her head clean off. I don’t even think she saw what it was that got her. And … her Ghost came out to rez her and … I remember bein’ so … shocked by the speed and the size of this … thing that was suddenly right there … I opened my mouth to yell at it not to, but nothin’ came out. Shiro yelled but …” He shook his head. “It was too late.”

“Taniks killed her Ghost,” I quietly surmised and Cayde nodded. 

“Yeah,” he finally answered. “That was the beginning.”

“He hadn’t gotten Andal yet?”

He shook his head. “That’d come a while later.”

I nodded and looked at the picture of the five of them all standing togethers leaning on each other, smiling. Shiro was standing tall and proud, arms crossed over his chest. Cayde, no surprise, had his mouth open in a smile, winking, middle finger up. Andal was standing right beside him, one arm draped over Cayde’s shoulder, smirking at him. Nian was toward the back, between Shiro and Andal, her arms lifted and draped around the backs of both their necks, smiling, a hint of mischief in her eyes. And Lush was beside her, the shortest of the crew, looking up between Cayde and Andal, a huge smile on his face, waving as if he were just happy to be there! 

They all looked happy.

It was so sad, what had happened.

“He really was a hell of a good looking guy,” I said.

“Who, younger me?” Cayde asked, preening.

“Dork,” I muttered, trying not to grin too much.

He snickered, resting his head against mine, his hand laying over the one I was holding the photo with, caressing the side of the picture and my finger. “Yeah, he drove so many crazy with that smile-a his. He was so bad at telling jokes, though. _So_ bad,” he fondly told me. “But that was parta the charm. You know, he’s the one who mentored Bray?”

“He is?” I asked, surprised and Cayde nodded.

“Mmm hmm,” he confirmed. “Sometimes …” He let the rest of what he was going to say linger in silence and I turned my head again, looking at him.

“Sometimes?” I gently prompted.

“Sometimes, when I see her in action … I see him,” Cayde confided.

I studied his features, sensing some sadness, but also pride. “Your relationship with her is complicated, isn’t it?” I asked. Things on Enceladus now made more sense. Why what she’d said and done that day had hurt him so badly and why he got so angry. Ana was a link to two important things from his past. Two contradictory things. 

“Yeah. But, hey,” he shrugged. “Complications - like risk - are all parta life. And we made up. No hard feelings.”

I smiled, nodding. “You know, I think I have a picture stand that will fit this,” I said, and handed him back the photo. “If you want to keep it out, I mean,” I added.

“Maybe we could make room on the shelf beside Sundance?” Cayde offered, nodding.

I nodded back and gave him a kiss, then settled back in his arms against his side, letting him hold me. 

“Your room isn’t at all what I’d imagined,” I told him, looking around. “But the bed makes sense.” I recalled the first night he’d slept in my bed and how it felt so comfortable to him, not being used to sleeping in a bed like that.

Cayde snorted. “What were you picturing?”

“I’m not sure. I think I just got so used to you being in the Hanger these last couple years, I was picturing more ship parts, ammo, and maps laying around sort of like at your workstation. Maybe a table where you cleaned your guns. Some cards and chips left out from a poker game. A bar with a few bottles of your favorite drinks. Maybe a record player.”

Cayde smirked. “I have those things, actually. They’re here, just put away in cabinets and a couple dressers. This place was mostly storage. It’s the only reason it’s so neat, save what the Cabal hit us with, knockin’ stuff around.”

Cayde saying that made me recall him mentioning how he hardly stayed at his own place. “So, basically, this was a glorified storage closet with a bed you rarely slept in, and where you occasionally brewed coffee?” I surmised. Why did that seem so sad to me? Cayde didn’t seem sad about it. But I was. He’d deserved better. Although, it wasn’t like he wasn’t offered better. He’d chosen to make the place more storage than a home of sorts.

“Pretty much,” he nodded. “Before movin’ to the New Tower and staying with you, I really didn’t sleep well. Bein’ alone just made it worse. Sundance helped but …” He shook his head. “If I nodded off but woke up to things bein’ busy, like in the Hanger, it snapped me out’ve it faster. I didn’t linger in a depressed funk. But, if I really needed time to myself, I’d skip on out to the Wilds.” He smiled and kissed my forehead. “Don’t be sad, darlin’. I wasn’t. It’s what I was used to.”

I smiled. “And now?” I asked.

His eyebrows rose. “Now? Now, I can’t imagine ever goin' to sleep and waking up not seein’ your beautiful face. Anywhere’s home as long as you’re there.”

I turned in his arms and hugged him. “Ditto, handsome.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, hope you enjoyed it and I'll try to have more out soon!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go! Hope you all enjoy it!

After handing the Cryptoglyph over to Eris to decipher, we helped out at the Sanctuary. Cayde directed the Vanguard Frames where to set up and secure the perimeter, and saw to getting weapons and ammo dispersed where needed while I helped unload supplies and get the shelters and operations pods in place. By the time Ghost got a ping from Ikora that she was coming up to see things for herself, we had a pretty secure base of operations going for all Guardians patrolling the area, many coming in from Sorrows Harbor looking worn, feet practically dragging and very grateful to get a hot meal and some rest. 

When Ghost let us know Ikora had transmatted down, Cayde and I ventured back inside the Enduring Abyss and up to the balcony Eris had been using that overlooked the top of the Pyramid. We saw Ikora standing there, back to us, hands clasped behind her back, silently starring out the ominous and seemingly silent ship. 

She tilted her head, ever so slightly, apparently hearing our footsteps as we approached, but didn’t turn around. 

“Ikora?” Cayde softly spoke, stepping up beside her, looking out at the Pyramid, then at her face. 

“I had to see it with my own eyes …” Ikora uttered, her voice deep and full of resolve yet holding a slight twinge of disbelief. As if, even seeing it, she couldn’t believe it was really there. “How long has it sat in silence?” She continued. “Watching us?”

“Much too long,” Eris suddenly cut in. All three of us jerked around, seeing Eris partially hunched over, cradling her ever present fiery green orb of light, the bone fragment suspended inside. She hobbled closer to us, five red Phantoms surrounding her, following her and looming over her, glaring. 

“Makin’ friends with the locals, huh?” Cayde casually asked, gesturing to them. Eris instantly turned her three eyes on him, the stare hard and biting in a way I’d never seen from her before, even at him, her lips parting in a mild snarl. I was actually taken aback by it. On the outside, Cayde winced a little but, otherwise, had no physical reaction. Inside, though, I could sense his surprise at the harsh rebuke. They’d verbally sparred quite often in the past, usually a result of them each handling stressful situations so differently, but there was usually never such tension between them. Right now, though, Cayde was backpedaling, knowing his usual teasing had unintentionally struck a nerve. He cleared his throat. “I, uh … s-sorry,” he apologized and the glare from Eris eased some.

Ikora took a step toward her. “I can’t help but feel responsible for this, Eris. If I hadn’t sent you here - ”

“Your concern is noted, but my fate is my own responsibility,” Eris told her, her voice tense and a bit hurried. “And we both know you didn’t come here to apologize,” she added, the Phantoms slowly closing in on her.

Ikora took another couple steps closer to her. “I came to tell you … You were right,” she nodded. “It seems those responsible for our Collapse … are coming back.”

Eris flinched, teeth bared, her right hand raised as if to try and shield herself from the Phantoms which had instantly started crowding her, almost smothering her, a low joined echoing hiss sounded from all of them, gradually growing louder. Eris shuddered and bowed some then suddenly spun around, exploding! “QUIET!” She shrieked at them, the outburst forcing them to drift back up and away from her. Cayde, Ikora, and myself all stepped back, startled. “You’re all insufferable!” Eris bellowed. “Save your torment for someone who gives a damn!” She growled, then slumped, panting.

Ikora and I exchanged a glance and I suddenly understood what exactly the Phantoms were surrounding her. “Eris,” Ikora carefully said, looking at her friend. “The Vanguard is at your disposal.”

“Then,” Eris managed, making what sounded like an exhausted sigh. “If you’ll excuse us, Ikora … We,” she said, turning to Cayde and I, “have work to do.” 

As Eris turned back, slowly hobbling away with the Phantoms, Ikora stepped closer to Cayde, laying a hand on his arm. “Cayde …” He looked at her and there was a silent exchange between them before Ikora spoke again. “Whatever she needs …”

Cayde reached up, lightly petting the back of Ikora’s hand and nodded, then looked at me and gestured me to start following Eris, right behind me.

What Eris had learned from studying the Cryptoglyph was that the Nightmares we’d been seeing around the Moon were, in fact, being generated by the Pyramid. As we’d suspected, they were a sort of defense. The Hive, however, had been able to use the Cryptoglyph and shield themselves from the affects, manipulating the energies. She surmised that, if Cayde and I harvested the Nightmare energies, we’d be able to do the same, infusing it into our armor as a shield. This, in turn, would allow us to enter the Pyramid.

“How much do you think we’ll need?” Cayde asked her, looking at the Cryptoglyph, now floating in a lectern of Eris’s design, which contained and amplified the Cryptoglyphs power for her own use.

“The Nightmares are powerful. But, I will know better when I have the essence.”

Cayde nodded. “Right, so we’ll go out and find you one, bang, bang, done, bring it back, and go from there.”

“You have a talent for understatement,” Eris managed, sounding worn, despite her steadfast refusal to break in any way to the Phantoms circling her.

Cayde looked over at her then up at the Phantoms that were trying to close in on her once again. “Hey, back off and give her a break, will ya?” He barked at the apparitions who paused in their advance and eased off some, but reluctant to do so. Eris looked at him, her expression seeming surprised. Cayde sighed. “Look,” he said, taking a step toward her. “You and me, we ain’t ever been on the same page. But that, uh … that doesn’t mean I don’t respect ya. Always have,” he told her. Eris looked at him carefully, as if trying to surmise if what he was saying was genuine. “Truth is,” Cayde continued, “some of us … we just don’t handle the things you’ve been though as well as you do. We gotta deal with them in our own way - _I_ have to deal with them in my own way. Sorry if that made it seem like I don’t give a shit. I do. Just not great at sayin’ it. Or showin’ it.”

Eris looked him up and down once more then glanced at me. I shook my head. Cayde had said that all on his own without any prompting from me.

“Your … candor is appreciated,” Eris told him. “And accepted,” she nodded, then forced herself to stand a little taller, moving on. “Now, to a more pressing matter,” she said, taking a couple steps closer to Cayde. “Your Ghost.”

I held my breath, feeling the same pang of anxiousness Cayde was feeling.

“What about her?” He tightly asked, his eyes on Eris’s.

“She is gone,” Eris stated, her voice becoming softer, more gentle and understanding. She knew the pain Cayde had gone though and that feeling of something missing that still sat deep down, even with Ghost.

Cayde’s mouth remained shut for a few nervous beats before he opened it, speaking. “Ikora?” he asked, apparently assuming she’d said something to Eris.

“No,” Eris replied with a slight shake of her head. “No need. I could sense something was … different with you. And I have noticed only Aislin’s Ghost ever appears.” She looked him over. “I was monitoring the comms. You were injured. But now, you are not.” She glanced over at Ghost and myself.

I stepped forward and laid my hand on Cayde’s back, rubbing gently as he shifted a bit closer to me. “There was an … accident. A year ago. Sundance was killed. Cayde almost died.” I knew nothing could be said of Enceladus, so I made up a half truth instead, skipping over going there. “The Traveler spoke to Ikora in visions. It wanted me to bring Cayde to Io. Apparently, when Sundance died, Cayde’s Light …” I shook my head. “I don’t know. Ghost and I were able to hold onto it. When we got to Io, the Traveler spoke to us and guided us to a place where it gave Cayde back his Light but also merged it. One Ghost, two Guardians.”

Eris looked between us. “This … changes things,” she said, her eyes darting back and forth behind her veil before focusing on us again. “You feel each other?”

“Yeah. To a point,” Cayde quietly answered, nodding.

“The Pyramid will try to use your joining against you. Make you believe lies. But it will be that joining that will also be your greatest strength to fight back,” she told us.

“How do you know?” I asked.

“There are prophecies scattered throughout ancient Hive text,” Eris replied. 

“Wha - of us?” Cayde asked, sounding surprised as he gestured between us, looking at me, then back at Eris.

“None are specific and, as prophecies usually go, vague and open to interpretation,” she said, gazing into the fiery green orb in her hand, watching the bone fragment slowly rotate. She then lowered it and took a step closer to us. “Just remember, above all else … trust each other. Use that intuition that joins you to guide you. Do not listen to the Pyramid’s lies. Listen to each other.”

***

“Alright,” I said to Cayde, making my way from the back of the ship to the pilot’s chair where he was sitting, all the ammo and weapons ready to go. “We’re all set. I’ve got everyth-” I paused when I saw Cayde wasn’t moving, just starring out the window, his cheek resting on his curled hand, elbow propped up on the armrest. His optics were even dulled and there was no real expression on his face. “Cayde?” I frowned, unable to sense anything. I wondered if he’d nodded off with his eyes open. Wouldn’t be the first time. I touched his arm, rubbing it a little as Ghost appeared, his shell twitching. When I still got no response, I leaned a little closer to Cayde’s face so he could see me. “Sweetheart, you with us?” I asked. 

Cayde suddenly startled with a gasp, making me jump back as he, too, jumped in his seat, his optics brightening and dilating. He spun the chair around, one hand fisted, the other on the hilt of his knife, eyes wide.

“It’s okay!” I immediately assured, hands up. “It’s just me. It’s Aislin. You’re safe,” I told him, reciting a routine I’d become accustomed to saying whenever he woke up from a nightmare.

He blinked at me and then at Ghost before he looked around, trying to get his bearings. As he did, his shoulders relaxed some and he lowered his hand and let go of the knife hilt, looking at me again. “Ais?”

“Yeah, Firefly,” I nodded, crouching down next to him, caressing the side of his face. “It’s okay. You’re safe,” I reiterated.

He sighed, his body going slack, settling back into the chair. “Sorry,” he uttered, rubbing at his face, starring up at the blinking lights of the console panel above our heads. 

“It’s alright,” I nodded. “You okay?”

He took a few slow, deep breathes, closing his eyes, and shook his head. “Not really, no,” he candidly admitted.

“Bad dream?” I asked, moving a flight log datapad out of my way so I could sit on the center console, facing him.

“More like bad thoughts,” Cayde clarified, resting his forehead on his fingertips, half his face hidden by his palm. He took another long, deep breath and slowly let it out.

“About what?” Ghost asked him, floating closer.

The one eye not hidden by his hand glanced over at Ghost. Cayde opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, frowning. 

“Taniks?” I carefully guessed, taking his free hand in mine, petting it softly.

He lifted his head away from his other hand and looked at me. “Not … specifically,” he replied. “It’s … I … I don’t know how to … explain it.” He looked down at my hands holding his and curled his fingers around mine, smiling softly. 

I smiled back. “Try?” I gently encouraged.

He looked back up at me again. “I’m afraid … if what Eris said is true and that death triangle really can conjure nightmares … I’m afraid I’ll freeze up and you and Ghost’ll get hurt. So I’m sittin’ here, letting myself relive that … fucking shit day, trynna …” He shrugged, shaking his head as he threw up a hand.

“Desensitize yourself to it?” I offered.

He nodded. “Yeah. Somethin’ like that. Trynna force myself to … accept the way it makes me feel so I don’t get hit with it outta the blue.”

“Is it working?” Ghost asked.

“No,” he admitted, ruefully smirking as he shook his head. “Still a fucking shit day that messes me up.” He looked at me again. “Y’know, when I asked ya to take me with you, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind,” he lightly joked and I smiled. “Still glad to be here with ya, though.”

I nodded. “Me, too,” I whispered and leaned forward, cupping his cheeks in my hands, caressing them as I pressed my forehead to his. He laid his hands over mine and sighed, the last of the tension ebbing from his body. He’d come a long way from those first few months after the prison and his system being all out of whack from the repair and the upgrade process. Now he could talk about that day without the emotions and fear taking over like they had before. I could still sense them there, though. Beneath the surface. He was struggling with them and scared. And I knew he knew that I knew that. I was scared, too. We both had more than Taniks to worry about, each of us with other demons from our pasts the Pyramid could use against us. So, when I hugged him, and he hugged me back, tight, both of us knew nothing else needed to be said about it, we just held onto each other and took comfort in knowing we had each others backs, no matter what. 

***

The first Nightmare Cayde and I encountered was Skolas. Cayde hadn’t faced him with me and hadn’t been on the comms with me, either. It had mostly been Petra, Variks, and I, tracking him over Venus and, eventually, to the top of the Vex Spire where he’d been pulling other Fallen through the gates. I’d missed Cayde that day. Missed his wit and jokes. I could have used them. It wasn’t that Skolas had been particularly frightening - he was more a pain in the ass, really, which made me wonder why the Pyramid formed him as a Nightmare - but it would have been nice to talk with Cayde while tracking him. Cayde always had a way of making things … well, fun. Unless of course they genuinely got serious and bad. But, even then, if he couldn’t make it fun, he was always an odd comfort, no matter how bad things got.

Actually, if I recalled right, Cayde had been out of the Tower at that day, having gone into the Wilds to help Shiro and other Hunters get a handle on the Fallen House of Kings and House of Devils, whom Skolas had riled up in his attempts to solicit their allegiance in his pursuit of becoming Kell of Kells.

Like the once real life counterpart, the Nightmare of Skolas was a true pain in the ass. It relied on its size and strength to back us off, stomping a large foot against the metal grated floor of the Ketch, knocking us backwards and off our feet, using the disorienting defense to get shots off as it teleported around the room. In the end, Cayde and I used the same tactics as I had used before to defeat Skolas. We got up on a high platform where it couldn’t easily teleport or knock us off balance and I held up the Ward Of Dawn while Cayde laid down and put the end of his sniper rifle through the defensive barrier, taking enough shots to weaken the Nightmare before using his rocket launcher. When it finally stumbled and dropped to one knee, Cayde leapt out and finished it off with the Blade Barrage. 

“Have I ever mentioned that we make a great team?” Cayde asked me, casually flipping a burning knife in the air while he waited for me to hop down from above and join him, the last flittering embers of what had been the Nightmare floating up and away before disappearing.

“Kind of why I married you,” I smiled, nodding.

“Really?” He asked, eyebrows rising. “You mean it wasn’t for my impeccable sense of humor?” He slyly smirked. “Or my exquisite ass?”

I paused, bringing my hand up to the chin of my helmet, tapping it in contemplation. “Hmm … Actually, now that you mention it …”

He laughed and I grinned then noticed, as the last of the ashes that had been the Nightmare blew away, a strange object lay in their place. It was about the size of a large rock, was misshapen, and had a glowing purple mist swirling about it. “What is that?” I asked.

“That could be what we’re looking for,” Ghost told us. “Eris? Sending you an image through the feeds. Is this what we’re after?”

“Yes,” Eris replied. “But that is not enough to shield both of you from the Pyramid’s affects. “More is required. You will need to track down another Nightmare source and destroy it.”

“Well, definitely didn’t expect it to be so easy as a one-and-done,” Cayde nodded. “You pickin’ up any signals from more-a these, Little Buddy?” He asked Ghost.

“Hmm …” Ghost uttered, his shell fanning out as he scanned, trying to pick up any similar readings as what the Skolas Nightmare had given off. “The Ketch is causing too much interference. I’m getting feedback.”

“Well, let’s get ya outside and to a high point, then. May help,” Cayde nodded.

Once outside, I hopped on the back of Cayde’s sparrow with him and the three of us headed for one of the highest peaks in the area, a part of the Moon’s crust that had been forced up when the Scarlet Keep rose from below. Up here, we were far enough away from any enemy fire or detection, that Ghost was able to be out for a while and get a good scan of the surrounding area.

“I have a signal,” he told us after a couple minutes. “It’s nearby but … faint. Perhaps underground,” he offered, then turned, looking off toward the Hellmouth. “That way.”

“Oh, great,” I uttered. “Back into that … pit,” I said, practically spitting the last word out like a curse.

“Don’t worry,” Ghost told me. “If it were back in the Catacombs, I doubt I’d be able to pick it up. That’d be too deep.”

I relaxed some.

“Still,” he added, “there are plenty of other places down there that were equally as unpleasant.”

“Don’t think that helped,” Cayde told him and Ghost looked over at him, curling his shell up a bit sheepishly. 

“Right. Sorry.”

I couldn’t help smiling a little at the slip up and reached out, petting him. “Don’t worry, Little Light. Just like old times. We walked out of there before, we will again. Upside is, Cayde’s with us this time. What could go wrong?”

“The list is endless,” Ghost replied.

“Hey!” Cayde protested.

Following Ghost’s signal, we found ourselves back in the Summoning Pits … And face to face with the first creature that had given me true Nightmares. 

Phogoth. It had been a giant, ruthless and relentless Hive Ogre.

Compared to all the things I’d been up against and defeated since, he now didn’t seem as terrifying as he had to me years ago, but that didn’t make his threat any less. 

On the platforms above the open arena, Cayde bounced around with ease, taking shots at the summoned Hive there to protect the Nightmare, offering me cover while I focused my efforts on Phogoth.

“So, I’m guessing this is another one of yours? Cause I don’t remember this guy,” Cayde told me over the comms, the roars from the Nightmare too loud for us to hear each other otherwise. “Whoo! That’s twenty-five!” He added in a whooping cheer, making a perfect headshot with the Ace, killing an Acolyte that had tried to sneak up beside me.

“Phogoth,” I told him, quickly ducking back behind a large boulder as it tried to blast me with its massive eye. “The first real nightmares I ever had were thanks this damned ogre. It’d killed me several times in my attempt to destroy it.” I heard a loud explosion, rock and debris flying overhead. I peeked around the boulder just as the Nightmare roared and slammed its fists into the ground then took aim at Cayde with its eye. 

“Ooh - ho - ho! He’s pissed!” Cayde laughed, easily jumping out of the way.

“I’m starting to think you just wanted to get your rocket off there, handsome,” I smirked, firing at the Nightmare’s back with my grenade launcher, drawing it’s attention back to me.

“What can I say?” Cayde asked. “Sometimes, it just beckons me to pull its trigger,” he played, making me laugh. “Speaking of, this guy pulled yours, huh? And not the good way, I mean.”

“No, definitely not,” I confirmed. I ducked back behind the boulder, narrowly missing getting hit my the eye blast. Cayde drew its fire again, giving me a chance to reload. “I was still trying to figure the Hive out. How they worked and what each of them could do. I was also learning how to be more aware of my surroundings while focusing on an enemy. I got shredded a few times by Thrall,” I recalled, wincing as I remembered how agonizingly painful that had been, being torn apart. “When Ghost brought me back, I’d try to keep an eye out for them, but get so afraid of being torn apart again, I’d miss where Phogoth was and get blasted or crushed.” I shook my head. “Weeks of sleepless nights and Ghost sitting up with me. I felt terrible.”

“And I told you you never had to feel terrible,” Ghost fondly chimed in, making me smile. “Besides, Aislin wasn’t the only one with nightmares,” he added, telling Cayde. “I hadn’t ever encountered Hive to that degree at the time, either.”

When I heard Cayde get another good blast off with he rocket launcher, I came out from behind the boulder and fired a few more rounds, the Nightmare weakening substantially. We almost had him.

“Sorry I wasn’t there,” Cayde offered, sounding a bit regretful.

“Why?” I gently asked. “We barely knew each other. I’d only been around for a couple months at that point.”

“I know,” Cayde told me. “Guess I just feel bad I couldn’t’ve at least been there and made ya laugh or something, like on other missions - anything to’ve made it less … terrifying. Hell of a thing to face just out the gate as a Guardian. For both of ya.”

I smiled again. “Just knowing you would’ve if you could’ve means the world, Firefly,” I softly said, sensing a warm tingle about him, making my smile broaden. “Besides, I’ve got you here for it now. You and your big rocket launcher.”

Both of us chuckled, Ghost sighing. “You really shouldn’t encourage him.”

When we finally brought an end to the Phogoth Nightmare, like the one with Skolas, we discovered a core essence remaining that Ghost collected. However, when we brought them to Eris and she placed them in the Lectern, she frowned, shaking her head. “There is enough here to infuse the armor for one of you, but not both. I’ll need more.”

“You up for it?” Cayde asked. “I mean, it seems the Pyramid’s focused on you,” he pointed out.

It was true. The Skolas Nightmare hadn’t been bad at all. Phogoth had been harder - physically and mentally with he memories, but Cayde being there this time had definitely made it much easier. Especially him talking to both Ghost and I as we fought it. If the pattern kept up for the next one, that meant it was likely going to be a more intense Nightmare, leading me to ponder all the deadly and frightening foes Ghost and I had faced, wondering which one it would likely be. Knowing Cayde was there with us, though, I was sure we’d get through it fine, so I nodded. “Let’s do it.”

And this was where shit went sideways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I left you all on a bit of a cliffhanger. *Grin* Sorry? Hehehe! More soon!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the one so many have been curious about! Hope you enjoy!

We followed the ping Ghost had picked up, leading us to the next Nightmare. 

It took us into the Temple Of Crota. 

There was a part of me that was hoping it was, indeed, Crota we’d be facing. But a bigger more experienced part of me was almost certain that it wouldn’t be.

I wasn’t sure if it had been because we’d talked about it before coming here and that it was still fresh on our minds, or if the Pyramid had simply been waiting, saving the proverbial ‘best for last’ as it likely saw it. But, what I was certain of was that, for Cayde, his nightmares of Taniks didn’t necessarily inspire fear, but anger and regret, and a need to avenge his fallen brother and friends. His Hunter family that had been so brutally murdered long ago.

So, when we reached the end of the stairway, leading down into the Temple and I saw the pulsing red and black orb atop a platform behind the Hive Seeder, tendrils reaching out like spectral veins, I knew this wasn’t something meant for me to face. We were right near the hidden pathway that led to the teleporter to Tanik’s ship. It had to be him and not Crota.

I had killed Taniks. Twice. I’d had my shot at him as simply a Guardian putting a stop to an ongoing threat. It hadn’t been personal in the sense that I hadn’t known any of the Guardians. It had simply been a duty to them and their memory. At the time, I hadn’t even known of the deep connection Cayde had to Taniks. But, now that I did, and here Taniks was, even if a Nightmare, I knew this fight wasn’t mine.

When the Nightmare finally appeared in its full form, I felt the stunned disbelief at seeing him that washed over Cayde. Even knowing it was possible, I knew actually seeing it was still something he couldn’t quite prepare himself for. Nonetheless, I quickly sensed the disbelief shifting to a low, thrumming, seething rage at seeing the Fallen Mercenary. All around us, Dregs, Vandals, and Shanks began coming into the area. Gathering my Light and focusing on the Void, I quickly generated a shield around us then put my hand on Cayde’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze, getting him to look at me. Fire from the incoming enemies, as well as rattling blasts from Taniks’s scorch cannon as he zeroed in on us attempted to break through the shield but to no avail. We both ignored it as we looked at each other. “I’ve got your back,” I told Cayde. “You do whatever you gotta do,” I nodded then gestured around us. “I’ll take care of these guys.”

His eyes were hardened but there was a glimmer of gratefulness in them as well. He nodded back and briefly touched his forehead to my helmet then gave me his satchel with Ghost and turned all his attention on Taniks.

I didn’t care what it was or what it took to put it down, but I gave it my all. Anything that moved and attempted to fire on Cayde and take his attention away from Taniks, I put a stop it. I could feel the fatigue setting it harder and faster than normal because I was not only moving around the room as much as possible to divert fire while focusing on shooting as many Fallen enemies as possible, but I also working at holding the Ward Of Dawn in place so both Cayde and I had some form of defense if needed. 

Cayde was a blur around me, mixed into the chaos of all the gunfire and scurrying Fallen as he fought Taniks, unloading as many rounds form the Ace as he could, trying to gradually weaken the mercenary. Blasts from Taniks’s scorch cannon that missed Cayde hit the Hive walls, causing rock and debris to fall in some places where the structure was weak, leaving piles of rubble, some falling and crushing a few Dregs and Taniks roaring and cursing Cayde in the process. There was even a point where a large chunk of rock came down, hitting me in the back of my right shoulder and the stinging pain that followed told me a sharp edge must have cut through the armor and got me but my adrenaline was too high for it to really register as more than a mild inconvenience so I kept going.

I wasn’t sure if the Pyramid was drawing the Fallen in, calling them to come and fight or if they were like the holograms in the Infinite Forest, creations of the Pyramid itself in the way the Nightmares and Phantoms were. One thing I did know, though, was it seemed like for every one I put down, another soon came in and took its place. Eventually, I pulled my auto rifle out, firing it with my left hand, while using my Sunshot in my right, bullet casings beginning to litter the floor everywhere I ran. Just clearing a column, I felt something slam into my left side, as if I got punched, and I grunted, staggering a bit.

“Aislin,” Ghost warned but I shook my head. 

“There’s too many,” I grunted, trying to catch my breath from the blow. “It’s too dangerous. Stay out of sight.” More Fallen and Shanks came down the stairway and I noticed Taniks retreating from Cayde, disappearing into the wall, following the hidden pathway that led to the telepad. As Cayde followed, I saw Fallen chasing after him. “Shit,” I uttered and hit the Fallen in front of me with the Sunshot, taking out a whole group of them in one blast, two Shanks spiraling out and crashing into the Seeder. I ran after the ones chasing Cayde, feeling out of breath, like I couldn’t quite get enough air in. I coughed, tasting blood, but didn’t slow in my pursuit. As I caught sight of them up ahead, I aimed the auto rifle and pulled the trigger but the trigger only clicked. I was out of bullets. Pissed, I dropped it and caught two Vandals in the back with the Sunshot, trampling the lingering embers of their bodies into the sand as I hurried to catch up to the rest.

As soon as I rounded the corner to the telepad room, I was met with about a dozen angry Fallen that had been waiting for me. I got a couple shots off before I realized the Sunshot was out of ammo as well. More Fallen were running up the pathway behind me and, beyond the ones blocking my way, Cayde was continuing to fight Taniks, the massive Fallen taunting Cayde with righteous laughter and slamming the ground, trying to knock Cayde off his feet and stab at him with his sharp, metallic claws all while Cayde tried to stab Taniks right back with his knife.

I growled and punched several Fallen, knocking them out of my way, then drew my sword and started cutting them down, clearing a path so I could get away from the entrance and the group coming up after me. If I could just thin these ones out, maybe that would give me a chance to get to a safe spot and enough time for Ghost to heal me. As I leapt up out of the way, a Vandal managed to catch my right thigh with one of his blades and, when I landed, I stumbled and tripped forward into a large rock, slamming against it, feeling the wind get knocked out of me. Ignoring the pain, I pushed myself up and turned, catching a flash of metal out the corner of my eye. I put up my sword to catch the blades that were coming down on me, struggling to push the Vandal back. It snarled at me and I kicked my left foot out, hearing the crunch and crack as I broke the Vandal’s leg. The snarl quickly turned to a pain-laced screech as the Vandal dropped to his side, freeing up my sword. I sliced it through the air and took his head off then staggered backward, away from the others advancing on me. The pain in my side was worse now than before and I grabbed at it, gritting my teeth. It hurt to breathe. I looked down as I pulled my hand away and saw a lot of blood and I realized I must not have been hit, but stabbed. That would explain coughing up the blood. I grit my teeth again and stood up as straight as I could, holding up my sword, refusing to give in. Stabbed or not, I told Cayde I had his back, and I had to hold out. As the remaining Dregs and Vandals closed in on me, now seeing that I was badly wounded, I backed up further, intending to use the rocks for cover to try and get an advantage. At least make it so only one could come at me at a time. 

Suddenly, there was a fluttering sound near me and I felt a rush of air just behind me, the Mark at my hip wafting up in the breeze. “AISLIN!” Cayde’s voice, sharp and urgent, almost a shriek, rang out. I sensed his horror and turned, only to come face to face with the end of Taniks’s scorch cannon.

I didn’t even get a chance to fully gasp in realization of what I was facing before the blast hit me. Bright light flashed in front of me and I felt all the air go out of my lungs just before pain surged everywhere, my feet leaving the ground. 

The next thing I knew, I was face down, trying to push myself up and get a breath in, my whole chest feeling like every single rib was broken. My ears rang and my body felt like it was on fire. Sand kicked up around me and my body jerked as I was hauled to my feet. I weakly cried out at the pain and, through the ringing, I made out echoing banging sounds and saw flashes of light as I was dragged away, my vision blurring, then clearing, then blurring again. 

I was carefully set down against a wall, coughing up more blood as gunfire continued to go off beside me. “HEAL HER! NOW!” I heard Cayde demand, his voice sounding muffled and far away, more gunshots ringing out. I saw the shimmering beam of light from Ghost as it passed over me and felt my ribs slowly pop back into place as my wounds began to close, the pain through my body beginning to subside. My vision cleared some and I pulled my helmet off in desperation for more air, taking a deep breath in, coughing as my lungs cleared. A blast against the wall close to us lit up the hallway and Cayde covered my body with his as he pushed Ghost back into the satchel out of sight, leaving me only partially healed. The Fallen that had been coming out from the telepad room after us looked back into it, then shrunk up and backed away, as if commanded to do so. Cayde continued to lay over me, shielding Ghost and I, the Ace aimed at the doorway as he watched and waited, unmoving. 

“Lork-CHÉ-torrr-ah BAK-cheee!” Taniks’s lowly rumbled form the other room, his voice echoing off the Hive walls.

I didn’t need a translation. I had learned enough Eliksni over the years to know exactly what he’d said. What he’d taunted. ‘Face me, coward.’.

I fisted Cayde’s scarf and pulled on it, getting him to look at me. “Kill that son of a bitch,” I ground out with a raspy voice, coughing again.

Cayde lifted his hand to my cheek, the pad of his thumb brushing over my lips, wiping away some of the blood. He nodded, then got up, checking the rounds in the Ace before spinning the barrel and clicking it back into place as he walked in to face Taniks one last time. 

I had never seen Cayde like this before. Never _felt_ him like this before. There was not an ounce of humor nor casual playfulness. He was eerily calm and still, his features hardened, his usually warm eyes cold, their gaze like serrated steel blades, wanting to both pierce the apparition before him, as well as rip it to shreds, slowly and painfully. 

There was a side to Cayde, I always knew. A side buried, way deep down that he kept locked away. A side reserved for those that dared cross him in the most personal way - hurting those he cared for and called family. Those he loved. A part of Cayde that had been left to sit in the dark and fester until it was needed.

If someone - even Cayde, himself - told me he was capable of such quiet, near blinding rage, I don’t think I’d have believed it. Even seeing it - _feeling_ it - was surreal. So unlike the man I knew each and every day. The man that was always so gentle and loving; so funny and playful. It was like I was in some twisted dream, sitting outside of myself, just watching as time slowed down with each anxious heartbeat. 

I’d told Cayde once before that I understood the line he walked. The precarious edge at the end of the Light where one wrong step would lead him to topple off into Darkness.

But I was wrong. 

So wrong. 

I only thought I understood that line. But I didn’t. Not really. Even with all my encounters with the Darkness and all the times I’d blurred the lines myself, none of it ever took me to the place Cayde knew.

But now … Now I could feel it … Now I really did understand why Cayde was the way he was all the time. Why he focused so heavily on the good things and not the bad. Why his wry wit and jokes were so much more than what others saw as dismissive childishness. Why he’d been so adamant on talking to me through the missions and making me laugh. Why he’d stopped me from killing Uldren. He knew firsthand where the Darkness could take me and he hadn’t wanted me to go where he’d been - where a part of him still remained since that fateful day over a century ago. 

And now, even if it wasn’t the real Taniks, just a shadow of what he once was, conjured by the Pyramid, he was still just as much a formidable and deadly opponent. Just seeing him standing there before Cayde, he represented everything Cayde hated to his core; everything he’d lost and so deeply regretted. Worse than all that, though, Taniks had come after me. Tried to kill me. And that had ignited a rage in Cayde that went well beyond what he’d been holding onto all these years. 

He stood there, his stance ready, his grip tight on the hilt of his knife, his eyes narrowed at the Fallen towering before him. 

Taniks lowered himself to a menacing crouch much like a ravenous carnivore ready to tear into flesh. He lowly growled, making me tense even more than I already was.

Cayde didn’t even blink.

A light crackle of Arc energy danced along Cayde’s fingers and he gripped the hilt of his knife even tighter, the leather of his glove creaking in protest. Taniks shifted, as if about to lunge at Cayde, then, faster than it seemed I could blink, Cayde moved, darting past Taniks like a streak of blue lightning.

Taniks roared, briefly dropping to one knee before twisting around to face Cayde again, hissing at him. 

Cayde calmly stood there, back to Taniks, Arc bolts dancing about his body, a long Arcblade now in his hand, red and black vapor sizzling off it. “Nort-CHO BAK-chee,” Cayde glowered back at Taniks, glaring at him over his shoulder. 

Ghost burbled, his shell twitching. “What … What did he say?” He whispered to me.

I swallowed, sensing the tense anger about Cayde. “No one calls me a coward,” I translated.

Taniks roared at him, fanning his arms out, and lunged at Cayde. Cayde leapt into the air, doing a backflip over Taniks, slicing the blade across his back. Taniks cried out, stumbling forward as Cayde landed behind him and stood, waiting.

“Now’s his chance. He could finish him. What’s he waiting for?” Ghost asked.

I shook my head. “He’s torturing him. He wants him to suffer,” I told Ghost, picking up on the vengeful ebb about Cayde.

Ghost looked at me, then back out at Cayde as Taniks spun around and made to try and strike at Cayde again, only to lose a hand to Cayde’s blade, the ghostly appendage fading away to blackened mist as soon as it hit the floor. Taniks made an agonizing scream and came undone, wildly throwing himself at Cayde, swiping sharp claws at him, tearing at his armor and cloak as Cayde leapt around him, slicing him a few more times in the process. “Dorbesh ah-kah-nee!” Cayde yelled and sliced at Taniks again.

“No one else falls to you after today,” I translated for Ghost without him asking.

I couldn’t wrap my head around what I was seeing. All those times I’d watched Cayde fight, it was always with the Ace or the Golden Gun. More recently, with his burning blades. But, outside of practicing with our shared Light in private matches overseen by Shaxx, I’d never seen him use Arc. I knew it was his original element, back in his early days, but I’d never actually witnessed him use it in a fight. Not like this. I’d never even seen him go at someone like this. It was cold. Calculated. Deadly. Not loose and relaxed or even with an element of enjoyment. Cayde was always a cowboy of sorts. He had fun and made it fun when he fought. It was like a game to him. 

But this … This wasn’t any of that.

I wasn’t used to him like this. And I didn’t like it.

“Nasa-EEsay, Baku!” Taniks seethed right back, actually managing to get a swipe off on Cayde, cutting his shoulder with his claw. Cayde grunted and spun around, throwing one of his blades, sending it deep into Taniks’s chest. Taniks slammed his fist against the nearby wall and yanked the blade out, holding it up in front of his face, briefly looking it over then past it at Cayde.

“What was it he said?” Ghost urgently asked me and I shook my head. 

“I’m not sure what that was,” I admitted, shaking my head as I focused on Cayde. I saw the leather at his shoulder gradually becoming black as his blood oozed out and dripped down his arm, noticing a few other places on his armor were also black from the cuts and scratches he’d caught in the melee. He seemed unfazed by any of it, though and held his arm out to Taniks, curling his fingers, tauntingly beckoning him to come at him. Taniks took the invitation and Cayde crouched, making to lunge at him. Taniks quickly changed his approach and leapt in the air to meet him and tackle Cayde to the ground, but Cayde seemed ready for it. He’d set Taniks up. As Taniks passed over him, confusedly swiping the blade at Cayde, Cayde ducked under him, his other blade extended, and gutted the Nightmare. Taniks shrieked, black ooze spilling from his phantasmic form, and curled into himself, crashing to the floor and skidding along until his body slammed into the side of the wall with a loud, sickening crash. 

It wasn’t until I felt the need to swallow that I’d realized my mouth had been hanging open. Cayde calmly walked over to Taniks, the Nightmare’s body slowly breaking down as it lay dying, black, oily mist rising up from it, while the rest seeped out into the sand under it. The body heaved, the head turning to look up at Cayde. “Ahban yeksh, yekshee tor pah,” Cayde told him. “Ahban jex ve-shex Ahndal. Ahban yeksh torbarnyex.”

My eyes widened and I unconsciously covered my mouth.

“What? What is it?” Ghost asked.

“I leave you … as you left him. I leave you as you left my brother, Andal,” I whispered. “I leave you to suffer.” 

Ghost twitched then looked back out where Cayde was standing, watching the Nightmare as it lay there, seeming to struggle and writhe in agony until enough of it had broken up, rising up into the blackness above, that the body laying before Cayde went still and soon became nothing, leaving behind only a small black orb with faint tendrils of white mist. The essence Eris needed.

I wasn’t sure what to do at first. Stay where I was, or go to him. After a few beats, Cayde dropped his blade into the sand at his feet and the Arc still crackling about him ceased, his body slumping a little. I got to my feet, my body protesting, still painful in some places, despite the healing, but I ignored it and ran up to Cayde, Ghost following. 

When I reached him, he was staring at the spot where the Nightmare had been, the essence silently swirling about. There was this immense feeling of relief about him. A satisfaction that was indescribable, mingled with just a touch of sadness and a bit of dread. I looked him over, noting all the cuts and scratches and the new tears to his cloak, glad that those had been the worst of his wounds and it hadn’t been anything so damaging as what had happened at the prison. Wordlessly, Ghost healed him, the process making Cayde look up at us.

“Are you okay?” I asked him, reaching up, laying my hand on his cheek.

He blinked at me, as if he were still trying to process the moment, then pressed his own hand to the back of mine and nodded, looking me up and down. “You?”

“Sore, but okay,” I assured him, nodding.

He looked to Ghost for confirmation he was alright as well and Ghost bobbed an affirmative. 

Cayde nodded again, then eased me into a hug, holding me close, letting out a deep sigh. “I thought he - If he had taken you, too …” He shook his head. 

“I know,” I whispered. “But he didn’t. I’m here.”

I felt him kiss my forehead then hug me tighter, rocking me sightly, his arms shifting around me more securely, struggling with the fear Taniks had inflicted on him when he’d shot me with he scorch cannon. 

We stood together in silence for a few more minutes, quietly comforting each other, before Cayde eventually eased back, looking at me, lightly stroking my cheek with the back of his curled finger. “Whadeya say we get you outta here, darlin’? I think you could use a rest.” 

I nodded. No argument there. I had so many questions I wanted to ask him but Cayde was right. I needed rest. And so did he. There would be time later to talk. 

Bending down, Cayde retrieved the essence, offering it to Ghost who dematerialized it to hold onto and give to Eris once we got back. Cayde then turned to me and carefully picked me up in his arms and carried me out of the temple, never once looking back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, you just watch Bungie bring Taniks back in a later expansion and totally screw me up here. LOL! HOPEFULLY, though, this is the final end to Taniks. I'm sure you have some questions which Cayde and Ais are going to answer in the next chapter. 🙂


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go, everyone! This is a more cuddly chapter. I really loved working on this one so I hope you enjoy it. I want to make note, though, I have no idea what really happened to Andal and, outside of Taniks killing him, there's no lore that sheds more light on it than that. If something does come out in lore that gives an actual series of events there, I'll likely edit this. But, for now, this is my take on it.
> 
> Anyway, as I said, hope you enjoy it! 😃

I brought two hot cups of tea over to the bunk and handed one to Cayde. He looked away from staring out the window of the cockpit and up at me, smiling faintly as he took the cup, scooting over so I could sit beside him. 

We sat together in comfortable silence for a short while, sipping the tea, before Cayde spoke, his voice quiet. “I wasn’t there when he died,” he told me and I looked over at him, his eyes focused on the tea in his cup. “I was off, screwin’ around. Some petty job - doesn’t matter.” He shook his head. “Shiro’s the one who found him. … Andal was - he was already gone by the time he got there. But I saw the recordings from Shiro’s Ghost. And the bits that were retrieved from Andal’s. It had been a - been an ambush.” He shook his head. “Taniks had been waiting for the whole Fireteam. Him and his crew wiped them all out, one by one, until only Andal was left.” He paused to sip more of his tea, seeming to take the opportunity to steel himself as he gathered his thoughts. “I think - I know - if we hadn’t had a run in with Taniks before - if he hadn’t killed our friends - Andal woulda taken off back for the Tower. Gotten help.” He shook his head again. “But it was a matter of honor. I saw it on his face in the recording. I - I saw a look I knew and had seen so many times before. He wasn’t gonna back down. And …” He sighed and set his cup on the molded shelf built into the hull next to him, blankly looking down at his hands as they settled against his crossed legs. “Taniks got hold of Andal’s Ghost. His arms, they, uh, they generated a - something like and EMP. Somethin’ … I don’t know. But … when he got hold of Andal’s Ghost he stunned it so it couldn’t go anywhere. Then crushed it. There was a bright flash of Light. Andal stumbled. And he knew,” Cayde whispered, nodding. “Same way I knew that day in the prison.” 

I set my cup down and reached over, taking his hands in mine. He looked at them and slipped one hand out, laying it over mine, petting the backs softly as he entwined our fingers together. “I saw it on his face,” he continued. “He knew that was it. But he didn’t run. I wish to hell he had. Maybe …” He pressed his metal lips together and took a long, slow breath in through the ridges of his nose, then slowly let it out. “After that, Taniks took his time.” Cayde pressed his lips back together and I saw his chin quiver slightly before he forced the emotion back. “It took Andal twenty-three minutes … and twenty-nine seconds … to die,” he whispered so quietly, it was more a breath than actual words. “He laid there, unable to even try to get out and get help cause that fucking bastard snapped his spine. He just … he slowly bled out.”

I felt my stomach drop as I let that all sink in. Let myself imagine that moment for Andal. The pain and agony he went through in the end. For Shiro finding him and the horror he must have felt in that moment. And then for Cayde. What he must have felt as well, watching it all unfold after, feeling helpless and unable to comfort Andal, or even say goodbye to his brother. Now I knew why it was so hard for him to talk about it, never able to bring himself to tell me exactly what had happened. On top of everything else, just remembering it -revisiting those feelings … Ghost materialized and settled on Cayde’s knee and Cayde reached over to pet him. I squeezed Cayde’s other hand and he looked at me. “I hated myself for so long,” he confessed. “If I had just - If I hadn’t been such a lazy braggart and focused more on actually making sure I’d killed the bastard rather than soaking up the attention it got me …” 

He looked back down at our hands again, shaking his head once more and I reached up, cupping his cheek, getting him to look at me. I brushed away a threatening tear that was brimming at the corner of his eye, then gently tugged him to my shoulder. “Come ‘ere,” I whispered. He went without any hesitation, settling against me, the tension in his body ebbing some.

“I wanted to drag it out,” he said. “I wanted to make him feel what Andal had. Let him lay there and linger in pain and just … watch him writhe. For all of them. For everything. But when I saw him turn on you … The only thing I could think in that moment was: Not you, too. Of all people, I can’t lose you. I’d die without you, Ais. It’d break my heart.” He pressed into me a bit tighter. “When I saw you were banged up but okay, and you told me to kill him … I don’t know, it was weird but … it was like it wasn’t just you telling me that but Andal, too. And Nian. And Lush. All of them. Through you. Telling me to just end it and move on. Let it go. Nearly a hundred-forty years … Just let it go.” 

I rubbed his back and he took a deep breath, letting it out. “Y’know, even though it was just a shadow of what Taniks had been in life, I’m not gonna lie, it felt good to finally have one last go at him. _So good_. Every cut I made, every time he slunk back away from me and from the sting of my blades … I felt like I was chipping away at all those terrible feelings and images from long ago. But I started gettin’ afraid.”

“Of what?” Ghost asked him.

Cayde pet him again. “Crossin’ that line,” he told him. “Knowing I could do it so easily. It’s why I don’t ever use those blades. It’s like I just go on a mad tear like in my nightmares.”

“I felt it,” I nodded. Cayde lifted his head off my shoulder and looked at me. “I … I didn’t like that side of you,” I admitted. “It felt like someone else,” I said, shaking my head. “Not the man I know.”

“That side isn’t a man you know,” he confirmed, nodding, then lifted his hand to the back of my neck and eased me close, kissing my forehead before hugging me again. “It’s that side-a me that lets me do the hard things when I really don’t wanna. A … A fragment, I think, of someone I was long, long ago.”

I nodded. “I know,” I whispered, hugging him back. “And I may not like that side of you,” I said, easing back to look at him, petting the sides of his face. “But I accept that it _is_ part of you. That, sometimes, you need to tap into that part of you to survive. And protect those you love. Besides, I would be foolish to ever think _you_ a saint, Cayde-6.” I smirked.

He blinked. “Wait … W - Was that a joke?” He asked me.

“Was it bad?”

“ _Terrible_ ,” he nodded, chuckling.

I grinned. “Sorry. I saw an opportunity to make you laugh and took it,” I told him, softly caressing my hands up over the top of his head.

“Glad ya did,” he nodded, tilting his head into the touches. “Needed that.” 

I nodded, too. “I know.” I slid my hands back down over his cheeks and the sides of his neck to his chest, lightly petting it. “This, um … This might be a silly question, considering you were finally able to tell me what happened but, do you feel better?”

He looked off to the side for a moment, then back at me and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I do. There were so many times I thought about what I’d do to him if he ever crossed my path again. And you know how I felt when Ikora and Zavala sent you after him and I couldn’t be there. But, yeah, I … I could never talk about it cause I felt like … like a failure. I felt like I failed my brother. Not just by not makin’ sure Taniks was dead to begin with but failing him by not bein’ there to at least put a bullet in him when you fought him. Now, I feel like I finally did right by Andal. I don’t … feel ashamed to say is name.”

“That’s why you always had a hard time saying it?” I asked. “I thought it was just because he was dead and, well, I know you and the ‘D’ word.” 

He smirked a little, looking down at Ghost, who’d remained quietly on Cayde’s knee, listening. Cayde lightly caressed his shell again then looked back up at me. “Still don’t like the ‘D’ word,” he admitted. 

“Who does?” I asked, smiling back.

“Bad guys. Morticians. Comedians with a morbid sense of humor?” Cayde offered with a shrug.

I snorted, grinning, and shook my head.

He smiled back, then grew a little more serious. “Thanks for standin’ by me through all this, Ais.” He looked down at Ghost. “You, too, Little Buddy. I know it hasn’t been an easy year. Even with all the good parts. It’s been a - a rollercoaster.”

I nodded and eased him into another hug. “There is no place, in all creation, I’d rather be then by your side when you need me most,” I whispered in his ear, feeling him hug me tight in reply.

“Same here, Cayde,” Ghost told him, now hovering beside us. Cayde lifted his head just enough to look at Ghost, his cheek pressed to mine. “We’re a family, after all,” Ghost added, his shell turning up as if he were smiling. “We stick together and support each other. Especially when things get tough.”

“Egh, you’re gonna make me cry. Shut up and come ’ere,” Cayde lightheartedly lamented then tugged Ghost over into the hug.

***

“So, gonna be a few hours before the armor’s ready,” Cayde said, crawling back up onto the bunk and laying back against my chest. “Somethin’ about magic and infusion and it needing time to take, blah, blah, blah. Eris knows what she’s doing. Anyway, not worth it to head back home, so looks like we’re campin’ out here.” He gave my knee a light pat.

“You sound so put out by that,” I smirked.

“Totally,” Cayde stated with no hidden elation. I laid my hand on the back of his, my middle finger idly tracing his wedding band. “Eh, reminds me of the good ol’ days, anyway.” He twisted a little so he could look over his shoulder at me. “Know one-a the great things about bein’ an Exo?”

I shook my head. “What’s that, handsome?”

“Bein’ able to lay on the Moon’s surface … totally … naked, and look up at the stars,” he stated with wonder, raising his hand up and fanning it out as if spreading it across the sky.

“You laid on the Moon … naked?” Ghost asked him.

“Why not?” Cayde shrugged. “Not like anyone was around to complain. Or that they would’ve even if they did see me. I mean, come on,” he said, gesturing over himself, giving a sly smirk. “You’ve seen me naked. Pretty easy on the eyes, right?”

“I try not to look, Cayde,” Ghost told him. “Unlike Aislin, that is not something I wish to commit to memory.”

“Well, that’s a fine how do. What happened to family and support?” Cayde asked as I tried not to laugh.

“Boundaries, Cayde. Boundaries,” Ghost nodded, then floated off to his little nook on the other side of the hull to get some rest.

“Our Little Buddy’s very uptight,” Cayde nodded.

I snorted, unable to hold it in, and shook my head.

“What?” Cayde asked, smirking over his shoulder.  


“Ana called him uptight when we first met,” I told him, smiling fondly at the memory.

“No!” Cayde gasped. “HA! Oooh, that’s great!”

“I can hear you, you know?” Ghost asked from across the way.

“No you can’t. This is all a bad dream,” Cayde ominously said, wiggling his fingers toward Ghost, making a spooky sound. 

“It’s a bad something,” Ghost familiarly needled, then rolled himself over, pulling up the edge of the scarf he was sleeping on with the point of his shell.

“That was … adorable,” Cayde nodded, then twisted in my arms again, laying more on his side against my chest. “So, a few hours to ourselves. Whatever are we gonna do?” He asked, playfully walking two fingers up my arm. 

Oooh, he was definitely feeling better and it made me very happy to see! 

I chuckled. “You ask that like you assume I have something planned.”

“Ah, but don’t you? I do know you pretty well, and you usually have something sneaky up your sleeve. Y’know, you really would’ve made a fantastic Hunter.”

“Mmm, maybe,” I nodded. “But I like letting my fists do the talking way too much,” I grinned, holding them up. 

Cayde lowly chuckled and took my left hand in his right, uncurling his fingers against my palm, getting me to open my hand back up. He studied it in a way that reminded me of that night on Enceladus, when we were standing together, looking at the empty Exo shells and he’d held and looked at my hand in a similar way. “What is it, Firefly?” I murmured.

“Hmm?” He looked up at me. “Oh! Nothin’,” he shook his head and looked back at my hand. “Just love your hands. How … smooth and soft they are. How delicate and tender. How loving. But also how strong and fierce they can be.” His finger brushed over my wedding band and the small, thin ‘love’ ring I’d placed with it that he’d given me for Crimson Days. “You ever think back on that day and … and have it feel like a dream? The most _wonderful_ dream, yeah, and, even though you know it really was real … it’s still so hard to believe something that incredible actually happened? That you and I are married.”

I smiled, nodding. “Sometimes,” I murmured.

He tilted his head to look at me easier. “Sorry if I’m actin’ weird. It’s been a bit of a surreal day for me,” he said. “Guess I’m just … goin’ over key events of this life in my head and … wonderin’ how I got so lucky to get here despite it all. To get you.”

I kissed his temple, then put my arms around him, getting him to lay back down on my chest. “The night before our wedding … I had a dream. … I told Ikora about it.” Cayde lifted his head and looked at me curiously, and I continued. “It was night. Summer. We were laying together in a field looking up at the stars. We were both human - it seemed like it was a very long time ago. Pre-Golden Age, I think.” I shook my head. “I can’t tell you what either of us looked like - not that it matters. We were laying together for what we believed would be our last night together. You had to go off to some war,” I said, shaking my head. “You didn’t think you’d be coming back from it. And I wanted to go with you but …” I shook my head again. “I couldn’t. I wasn’t allowed or something. I don’t know. But I promised you, no matter what, I’d find you. In that life or another, I promised,” I told him. I shook my head again. “And I have no idea if it was really a dream, a flash of a memory from a life long gone, or …” I threw up my hand. “Maybe just some strangely sweet scenario that worked its way in from a film we watched or a book we read.” I looked into his eyes. “But I like to think it was us from long ago. That I kept my promise.”

Cayde blinked at me, his eyes shifting from side to side as he looked at mine. He then scooted up a little further and hugged me, snuggling in as close as he could. “What’s the harm in believing it really happened?” He quietly asked, his warm breath puffing along the side of my neck.

“None, I guess,” I admitted, cuddling him right back, lightly caressing the back of his head.

“Then it was real,” he told me with a slight shrug. “And you kept your promise.”

“You are so shamelessly romantic,” I fondly stated as I smiled.

Cayde lifted his head again. “Ais … I’ve spent over seven _hundred_ years in self-imposed celibacy, save Lucy here,” he said holding up his right hand. “I’m allowed to be a hardcore romantic.”

“ _Lucy_?” I asked, raising my eyebrows and blinking in disbelief at the name as I looked between him and his hand. 

“No, not really, I just - it was better than flat out saying jerking off,” he clarified, shaking his right hand in the tell-tale motion. “There is no ‘Lucy’ don’t go gettin’ jealous, now,” he smirked at me and booped the tip of my nose with his finger, making me chuckle. “Anyway, what I was gettin’ at was, if I was in a human body still and not an Exo, there’s _no way_ I’d have made it even a fraction of that time not having sex with someone but, lucky me, if I got the urge, I could sorta switch it off. And I did that a lot cause … well, maybe there was a part of me that knew and wanted to wait for you. That the whole Queen and Ace thing really wasn’t all just something I made up to stay on the straight and narrow.” He shrugged. “Don’t know. But, hearin’ about it now … I really like the idea of that.” He smiled.

I smiled back as I nodded. It was quite possible. There was no way to know for sure but, like Cayde, I liked the idea of it being real, too. “I didn’t know you could do that, by the way,” I then said. “The shutting it off, I mean. I know, being an Exo, your body reacts differently than if you were still human, I just didn’t know you had that much control. But it makes much more sense now. How you were able to … suppress, I guess is the best term, that part of yourself.”

Cayde nodded. “Mmm. It’s always there. There’s no way to completely shut it off. But if we couldn’t get those warm, tingly feelings at all, or act on ‘em, we’d go nuts. Just like being able to breathe and eat. That whole DER thing. It’s kinda hard to explain exactly what it’s like and how it works. And pain works the same way. Like that time when you were goin’ after Gary through the Vex teleporter and my arm and leg got shot off on the roof?” I nodded and Cayde nodded, too. “Same thing. Normally, if I were human, I’d’ve gone into shock. It still hurt like hell, don’t get me wrong. The brain and body recognized damage and pain. But I could kinda … not pay attention to it is really the best way to explain it. I could still feel it, but it was off in the distance somewhere. And that’s kinda how everything else works.”

“So, if you were attracted to someone …?”

“Switched it off until I had some alone time to play out a nice fantasy,” Cayde earnestly replied.

“But, what about affection and being held, and just being close to someone? Didn’t you have an urge for that, too?”

“Course I did. I just distanced myself from it. Focused on improving my game, mastering weapons, honing my skills, traveling wherever, lookin’ for salvage or loot, takin’ jobs …” He shrugged. “All kindsa stuff. I mean, it is why I’m so awesome now. Really focused there,” he lightly joked, nodding, making me chuckle. “And it’s not that I didn’t ever get or give hugs. I wasn’t totally devoid of affection. You know me and hugs. Love givin’ ‘em, love gettin’ ‘em. But the really close stuff, like you and I share?” He shook his head. 

“Well, I was right in my assumptions about why you always wanted to be held,” I nodded as I thought about all his reactions after Sundance died and then coming back from Enceladus. How much he just wanted to curl up in my arms and feel safe and sheltered from the world. How he would go though crying fits and depression. Be suddenly struck with fear and freeze up. Or be happy one moment and pulled down the next. His system was haywire and he likely couldn’t control or shut things off like before because that was all shot while his system rebooted. “That healing process really threw you out of whack. No wonder rehabilitation and therapy were such a key part of the rebooting process.” 

“Yeah, I was … W-well, we’ll leave it at a mess,” Cayde nodded. “But, hey, you were better than any of them could’ve ever been. You got me through it.”

I smirked. “I tried,” I nodded. “Even before that, though, you were letting your guard down.”

“Of course. You were safe. You cared. I knew that,” Cayde pointed out. “I also knew you wouldn’t go runnin’ around telling anyone about private stuff. And not just cause you were quiet all the time,” he winked at me, making me smile again. “And, for the record, I still like to be held,” he told me, snuggling back in against me. “That’s definitely somethin’ I’ll always want.”

I hugged him tight and kissed the top of his head, resting my cheek along the ridge of his mohawk. “Can I ask you one more thing?”

“Sure,” Cayde shrugged. “Anything you want.”

“I think you kind of already answered it but … back in the prison, you didn’t use Arc to fight the Scorn. Was that because of that fear of crossing the line?”

“Actually, I didn’t even think of using it,” Cayde honestly answered. “I’m so used to usin’ the Golden Gun and the Blade Barrage. I didn’t think the mess I’d gotten into was somethin’ I couldn’t handle. And, by the time I realized it was and would’ve used ‘em, it was too late. Sundance was gone. No Light, no blades. It was just me and the Ace. And, like I said, just like Andal … I knew.” He lifted his head. “Course, you came along and saved me. But, even after gettin’ the Light back …” He shook his head. “I didn’t have it in me to dare want to let loose like that. Not with how I was feeling. It was one thing to activate it in a casual setting like we did with Shaxx to test how our bond works but in actual combat?” He shook his head. “It took finally feeling like myself again and facing Taniks to draw that part back out. And it’s definitely not a part of me I want to bring out again anytime soon.”

I nodded and he nodded, too, then settled back down, head on my shoulder. I found myself idly caressing his back as I quietly thought about everything we’d talked about. He really was such a unique and special man. So much deeper than people thought. So much deeper than even I realized. And, I had a feeling, there were still more depths to Cayde I hadn’t learned of yet but, eventually, I would.

***

“Wait, wait! No, wait!” Cayde laughed, slapping at my hands. “That’s not how you do it! You’re bending your fingers wrong!”

“I am not!” I laughed back, bumping my hip against his. “You got Exo fingers. You’re bending yours in a way I can’t!” I insisted.

“What?! What are you talking about?!” Cayde cackled. “Exo, yes, but my fingers don’t bend different than yours just cause I’m a robot!” He pushed my hands down and held his hands up over my head. “Look, just look. You’re doin’ it backwards. Twist your fingers together like this, then curl this finger to make the eye. See? Ears, eye, and then use this hand to make the body. It’s a bunny.” He bounced his hands along in the light Ghost was projecting for us from the built in nook shelf above our heads.

I tried again. 

“No, no. Why do you keep twistin’ ‘em backwards?” Cayde laughed again, then got me to twist my fingers in the proper direction. “Like that. Now make the eye.”

“I think you’re just more skilled with bending your fingers than I am,” I insisted.

“Oh? I don’t know about _more_ skilled,” Cayde purred, “but I’m, uh, skilled where it counts,” he insisted, leaning into me, nibbling at my ear as he curled his index and middle finger, wiggling them back and forth suggestively.

I squeaked and gave him a playful shove, laughing again as he snickered at me.

Ghost sighed, although hardly sounding put out by our affections.

The console beeped and Ghost opened the comm for us. “Go for Cayde!” Cayde called out.

“The armor is ready,” Eris replied without greeting. “Follow the portal through from the Sanctuary. I’ll be waiting.” The comm ended.

“Huh. Direct and to the point,” Cayde nodded, then looked over at me. “And I just totally picked up on that anxious jitter from ya.”

I turned my head toward him. “Yeah,” I nodded, feeling the carefree playfulness of the moment ebbing away. “Really curious to see what’s in there but also …”

Cayde nodded. “Yeah, me, too. Hey …” He shifted closer to me and pressed his forehead to mine. “We do what Eris said. We stick close, look after each other, and we trust each other.” He looked up at Ghost. “That goes double for you, pal. No matter what.” Ghost confidently bobbed and Cayde looked back at me. “Yeah?” He asked me. 

“Let’s do it,” I nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pyramid time at last! Been pondering this part for quite a while and have draft ideas written up. Hope to get it all put together and out to you soon!
> 
> As always, thanks for reading and all the support! ❤️  
> ~Ais


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to have this out in time for Halloween cause ... well, you'll see. But life is crazy and things got busy, so it's a couple days late. Sorry about that. Hope you all enjoy it.
> 
> I know, you all are going to KILL me with how I left this one. Muahahaha!
> 
> Don't worry, there will be more ASAP. 😘

“Is it just me or does it feel a little unsettling, putting on armor made from dead Moon Colonists’ space suits?” I asked Cayde as we pulled on the armor Eris had made for us and fused the Nightmare essences to.

“Well, to be fair, our ships, our guns, stuff we use to build up the City, some of the repurposed textiles and furniture … All that’s from people who once used them and are now long gone, so …” Cayde shrugged. “What’s the difference?”

I paused, staring straight ahead as I let that sink in, then looked at him. “I … You know, I never really thought about that,” I admitted. I really hadn’t. Now that he said it, though … “Huh.”

Cayde lightly chuckled. “You didn’t think of that, but you think of the suits?”

“I think it’s just that I’m putting something _on_ my body that someone else wore … Someone I didn’t know who’s now dead … It’s … I don’t know.” I wiggled a bit as I shook my head at myself. It was silly, I knew. 

Cayde chuckled again, eyeballing me. 

“What?” I asked.

“You,” he shook his head. “Big, strong Titan who I know’s been in some seriously gross places, covered in alien blood and exploded bits, even been slimed from head to toe in Hive goop and, now, puts on a dead persons clothes and freaks out. Eeee!” He wiggled his hands and body like he was squicked out, making fun of me.

I shoved him. “Shut up,” I laughed.

He snickered and leaned over, kissing my cheek, then finished getting suited up. I noticed him take a folded piece of paper out of a pocket inside the chest piece of his regular armor and stick it inside the armor he was currently wearing.

“What’s that?” I asked.

He looked over at me, eyebrows raised, then reached back inside his armor and took the paper back out, handing it to me.

I took it, curious, and unfolded it, feeling my chest tighten a little as I instantly recognized my own handwriting.

_My Dearest Firefly,_

_Today, you become my husband. But I want you to know - as I’m sure you’ve always known - there hasn’t been a single moment since our bond that I ever thought of you as anything but._

_I know, today, before our friends, we will speak from our hearts. Say the things that matter most. But they will never seem like enough. Never encompass all the warmth and joy you’ve brought to my life. All the happiness you’ve brought to my Light and to my soul._

_So now, Cayde, I want you to know how truly precious you are to me. How much I love you. How much I will always love you. That you are the rarest and most incredible treasure in all creation, with an unfathomable warmth and the most beautiful Light that I’ll forever hold safely in my heart._

_Unconditionally and Forever Yours,_  
_Your Wife,_  
_Aislin_

My eyes actually blurred a little and I blinked them clear, carefully folding the letter back up, giving it back to him. “You keep it with you?” I softly asked.

He nodded and slipped the letter back inside his armor over his heart, petting the spot. “Every day I put my armor on, I make sure it’s there.”

“Oh, Cayde,” I sighed and hugged him. 

“Whoa. You alright?” He asked, hugging me back.

“That is just so …” I leaned back and looked at him, shaking my head, at a loss for words. I was so profoundly touched.

“Romantic?” He offered with a sly smirk, arching an eyebrow.

“Jerk,” I smiled, shaking my head.

He lowly chuckled and kissed my lips. “I love you,” he murmured, kissing me again. “Bunches.” Kiss. “And bunches.” Kiss. “And bunches.”

“I love you,” I whispered back, nodding, unable to stop smiling as I stroked his cheeks, feeling his hands slowly sliding up and down my back. 

***

Cayde and I stood on the edge of the precipice, overlooking the seeming endless black void that held the Pyramid, that same sickening green mist hanging in the air around it like an unrelenting plague.

“The Pyramid … is waiting,” Ghost told us, his voice distant, metallic, and slightly stuttered as he seemed to be trying to fight against whatever force had hold of him once again. I grit my teeth. Both Cayde and I knew this was going to happen if we got close to the Pyramid again. Even Ghost had known. It was the risk we all knew needed to be taken if we had any hope of getting inside. 

It didn’t make it any easier, though. I could even sense the worry and low thrum of anger within Cayde at having Ghost used and in harms way like this. I had no doubt he was thinking about Sundance right now. Afraid of something happening to Ghost like had happened to her. Afraid some stupid mistake would take him away, too. I knew that continually weighed heavy on him which was why he was often insistent Ghost stay out of sight when we were on missions. He just didn’t outwardly show it. 

I looked over at him as he crouched down, peering over the edge of the cliff. “Not seein’ anything that looks like a door. Not even a pathway to get close to that thing. Just a bunch more of this green and shimmery mist.”

My eyes shifted from him and off to the left, barely making out a ledge in the dark much lower down. It looked like went around to the other side. “What about down there?” I asked, pointing to it. “Maybe it leads to a spot further down that’ll get us closer?”

“Might,” Cayde nodded, standing back up, brushing his hands together. “Only one way to find out.”

We jumped down and, now that we could see more clearly along the pathway, we saw that it dropped down yet another tier a few feet in front of us. Something suddenly caught my attention out the corner of my eye. “Cayde, look,” I told him, petting at his shoulder as I pointed out at the Pyramid. “There’s a light.”

Cayde frowned. “That wasn’t there a minute ago.”

“It … beckons us to come closer,” Ghost stated as the swirling vapor around us grew heavier, casting a thicker translucent grey all around us, faint shimmering colors occluding our vision like a fog.

I felt Cayde take my hand. “C’mon,” he uttered and led me forward. We dropped down onto the lower tier and followed it through a small archway that brought us through the cliffside then back around toward the Pyramid, the space opening back up to the massive interior pocket the Pyramid sat in.

“Looks like it drops down again,” Cayde said, gesturing ahead of us. I nodded and, just as we jumped off the edge, some invisible force grabbed me and yanked me forward into the void. “Cayde!” I gasped. His grip on my hand instantly tightened, the force pulling him along with me. 

“I gotchya!” He called. I twisted around, grabbing for his other hand, the two of us pulling ourselves close together, holding onto each other. Cayde got his arm around my waist as I got mine around his. I glanced down, seeing nothing below our feet but endless black beyond the vapor. When I looked back up, the light on the side of the Pyramid grew closer, the force pulling us into it.

“Violence. Beauty. Truth. These things await inside,” the entity controlling Ghost ominously told us. “There is no turning back now.”

I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach at the words. 

As we passed into the opening, the lights appeared to spread out, opening like a flower, forming a kaleidoscopic array of soft bluish white, gray, and red hues that seemed to fade into the black surface of whatever the ship was made of. It was actually quite beautiful in contrast to the apprehension of not really knowing what awaited us once we were inside.

Whatever force had hold of us settled us down on an etched circular design within a black matte stone-like platform that surrounded a large square pit brimming with soft white light. Oddly enough, as I looked up and around, getting my bearings, I noticed how the black surface didn’t reflect it. In fact, it seemed to absorb the light, all around us nothing but shadow, ominous and almost suffocating. What made it even more creepy were the tiny double red dots of light we saw, settled into the darkest parts of the walls around us, looking like eyes staring back out at us. In fact, we honestly couldn’t tell if they really were eyes or not. They reminded me of my first encounter with the Vex on Mars, deep underground, the red dots moving about in the dark transportation tunnels. Back then, Cayde had told me that there was nothing creepier. I begged to differ, though. The Hive eyes in the dark had always been what got me, along with the sounds they made. This was a close second.

“Welcome. We’ve been waiting,” Ghost told us.

I glanced at Cayde. ‘We’? I silently mouthed, then looked around again. ‘We’ meant one of two things. Either there was physically more than one, or there was one that thought as a collective in a similar way that the Vex did. Whichever one it was, the real worrisome part was how many was ‘we’? Guardians were still drastically down in numbers from the Red War which was troubling. Even with the New Lights coming in, there weren’t enough to stave off a massive invasion. Hell, even with what we’d had before the Red War, I wasn’t sure we’d had enough. And the real troubling part was, if whatever this thing was could control Ghost - all Ghosts - what could stop it from taking them over completely and leaving Guardians mortal, unable to be revived to keep fighting? 

In fact, I wondered what it was, exactly, about this thing - this Darkness - that gave it its power over Ghost? If the stories were true, if it was something that had pursued the Traveler for eons … if it was the opposite of the Light … how were we supposed to fight it? Maybe the motes really were the way to fight back? To use the Darkness’s own powers against it. And if that really was the case … how did we stop ourselves from becoming corrupted the way the Warlords had been?

Cayde must have picked up on my apprehension and worry. I felt him gently touch my shoulder, petting it softly in reassurance before nodding up toward the other side of the light pit to a darkened archway. Clearly we weren’t getting back out the way we’d come in and the Pyramid had pulled us in for a reason. Only way to go was forward.

I nodded and took point, heading up, noticing the shimmering gray vapor that had surrounded the Pyramid outside was all around us inside as well, and soft, eerie whispers I couldn’t understand, like ones I’d heard before around the Sol System, seemed to come from the blackest corners, setting me even more on edge. 

I wasn’t the only one, either. I could sense it from Cayde. He wasn’t showing it, but it was there just the same. I looked back at him and he responded with a simple wink. No smile. He knew I was picking up on his unease and just wanted me to know he was alright.

Nodding again, I kept moving, heading through the archway, the only way to go now being to the left and up another set of stairs that were flanked with built in shelves, the two tiers illuminated by gridded soft red lights and decorated with canopic style vases. I frowned. I hadn’t expected to see decorations in a place like this, even if they were just vases. That would imply, whatever this Darkness was, there was more to it than it just being some dark force chasing the Traveler.

“What is it?” Cayde whispered to me, leaning over my shoulder, following my gaze. 

“Vases,” I whispered.

Cayde’s eyes looked them over before he tilted his head, looking at me. “What about ‘em?”

“If you were a dark entity, chasing what you saw as your ancient enemy across eons of space and time … if you were this … thing … like what one of your early you’s wrote about, or even something that controlled those creatures that you drew … what would you care about something as trivial as vases?” I asked, gesturing to them. “Or creating massive ships like this?” I asked, gesturing up and around. “If I didn’t know better, I wouldn’t think I was on a ship right now,” I told him, shaking my head. “This feels more like a temple.” 

Cayde looked up and around. “Huh. You’re right,” he uttered with a nod. 

“Something isn’t fitting. The way this place is set up … This is something I’d create if I had legions of followers,” I told him, beginning to walk again, heading up the steps. 

“Searching the universe, following the Traveler, pushing it out and taking over whatever was there or killing whatever fought back,” Cayde surmised.

“Or scattering it to the wind, like the Eliksni,” I offered.

“It’s not a bad theory,” Cayde nodded, looking around again. “But still just a theory. And totally based off a few vases and a clear love of what I’d say is Pre-Golden Age modern gothic architecture.” He looked at me. “Either that or they just have some serious emo issues.” I smirked at his dig, unable to help it. He smirked back. “Seriously, though, you could be onto something.”

“Only one way to find out, I suppose,” I said.

He nodded and we continued on our way up the steps.

“You’re so close now,” Ghost told us. “Just a little further.”

I frowned and peered around the corner at the top landing of the stairs, Cayde leaning into my back as he looked around over me. “That’s one-a them Nightmares,” he whispered as both our gazes settled on the red and black swirling enigma suspended in place at the end of a long hallway. 

As we slowly made our way to it, it became clear just what Nightmare it was.

Ghaul.

“Yup,” Cayde nodded. “I’m beginning to sense a pattern he - ”

Without warning, a bright light flashed all around us accompanied by a crackling and tearing sound. Everything suddenly changed. I was no longer in the Pyramid, but back on top of Ghaul’s ship, everything in shades of shimmering reds and oranges and Ghaul, right in front of me, eyes like fiery embers, glaring at me menacingly as he drew his weapon and backed up, ready to fight. Warbeasts charged up over the sides of the platform in his wake like a wave rushing up onto a barren shore. They charged at me, fangs and claws brandished. 

I backed up, raising my gun, firing as I reached back for Cayde.

Only, there was no one there.

Startled by the absence, I spun around, looking for him. “Cayde?” The Warbeasts continued at me, undaunted, trampling the dead ones I’d already shot, drawing my attention back to them, I fired again, the Sunshot exploding, taking a group of them out all at once as I turned and ran for cover. “Cayde, where are you?!” I called over the comm, frantically looking around for him as I skidded in behind a wall, firing around it. Psions and Legionaries joined in on the fight as Ghaul rose up into the air, circling around, firing on me as well. I drew up my Light, molten hammers forming in my hands, and hurled them at Ghaul, the massive Nightmare grunting and bellowing at my attacks before creating the same hammers, just like before, and hurling them right back at me!

“Shit!” I cursed and turned, leaping off the top hull as a finely explosion of careening hammers lit up behind me. I dropped down to an open passage I knew was below, and got out of the direct line of fire, using it for temporary cover and to plan my next move. 

As I reloaded my cannon, I suddenly realized, I couldn’t sense Cayde.

At all. 

There was just … nothing. Like it had been before our Light Bond. No sense of emotion, no idea of where he might be or if he was okay or not. Just … a blank, empty void that made my blood run cold at the thought of - No. No, no. Maybe only I had been drawn into the Nightmare? Maybe that was why? That had to be why. Like when we slept. When that happened, sensing each other ebbed away until we woke again.

That had to be it.

Loud metallic stomping of heavy feet on the hull caught my attention and brought me back to the present and pressing moment and situation I was in. Nightmare or not, I had a feeling this was a lot like the Infinite Forest. Things might not necessarily be real here, but they had the power to kill. I looked to my right, seeing Legionaries and a couple Warbeasts came into the tunnel, opening fire and forcing me out the other way as I fired back at them. Psions then came running at me from around the other side, and Ghaul rose up overhead, more Legionaries fanning out under him. “Damnit,” I cursed to myself as Ghaul roared with seeming glee, Arc Light crackling all around him as he utilized yet another power of the Light in an attempt to attack me. A line of electric light blazed along the hull, leaving a jagged and black smoking trail behind it, bolts of lighting arcing off the metal as Ghaul chased me with it! I ducked and rolled out of the way, firing at him, knocking him back a little and throwing his aim off. Taking the brief second of reprieve from the attack, I looked around, realizing I was trapped, flanked on all sides. I was a sitting duck for Ghaul, so I pulled out the machine gun and opened fire, leveling everything around me, giving myself an opening, and ran through it, Warbeasts taking after my heels. I threw a couple grenades behind me creating a long wall of fire, cutting off them and some Legionaries. Ghaul landed back up on top of the extended platform and opened fire on me again, his stolen Light spent. Mine, however, was built up and I let the flames course through me, bursting from within me as they engulfed my body. Swirling lines of fiery Light coursed from my arms to my hands and twisted together until they formed two molten hammers that pulsed with energy in my palms. I leapt up into the air and hurled them at Ghaul, one often the other as fast as they would form, slamming him back painfully until he turned to retreat, stumbling and dropping onto one knee before scrambling back up and retreating to the very top of the ship where distorted purple and black flames of the Traveler’s captured Light rose up and swirled around him like a hurricane and then -

In the blink of an eye, I was back in the Pyramid, everything around me still and quiet until Ghost spoke. “The Red War saw so many lives lost. Saw the Light taken away so easily. In Light, there is only weakness.”

I frowned at the words, taking them as nothing but nonsense from an enemy and shook my head dismissively as I got my bearings again. I was back in the Pyramid … and I still couldn’t sense Cayde. My heart dropped to my stomach. Where was he? I’d expected him to be here. He should be here. “Cayde? Cayde?!” I spun around in a circle, looking for any sign of him as I called his name again and again. I just wanted to know where he was and why I couldn’t feel him - why I couldn’t sense anything at all. I looked everywhere, running from dark corner to dark corner, searching the shadows and called out again, my voice echoing off the cold, lifeless walls. I finally found myself back in the center of the room and looked up toward the ceiling, only a dim white light to greet me. “Where is he?!” I demanded but got no reply. I grit my teeth and screamed as I crouched to the floor and slammed my fist into the unforgiving stone beneath me. The sound seemed to be absorbed rather than echo around the space. Maybe the Pyramid had put him in a Nightmare of his own as it had me? Maybe, if he was still there and I was back here … maybe that separation was blocking us from each other? If that was true and we were alternating in and out … maybe …

I had to hope that was what it was. I had to. 

When I lifted my head back up and looked around once again, I noticed a very faint outline of an archway on the other side of the room. I didn’t recall seeing it a few moments ago in my frantic search. But, then, I was panicked and it was possible I’d missed it. 

I didn’t think so, though.

Standing back up, I took a calming breath and checked my cannon, then headed over to it. 

Once there, I peered through it and saw the hallway beyond forked into two separate directions. I looked down one way and saw nothing but a long and empty hallway. The same thing in the other direction. “Cayde?” I tentatively called out and waited. 

I got no reply. 

Both directions were exactly the same. No distinction to help me or guide me in any way as to which way I should go. It was possible they circled around and came out in the same place but I wasn’t sure about that. I frowned. “Which way do I go?” I whispered aloud to myself, looking back and forth once again before I finally decided on the path to the right. 

More whispers from the dark assailed my ears and I began to notice a low, dull ache radiating all over my body. I stopped walking, taking my left had away from holding my gun hand and flexed it, frowning at it before shaking my arm out, trying to get rid of the sensation but with no luck. It felt a bit like the ache I’d had when I woke on the ground in the City after being pushed off Ghaul’s ship. It wasn’t from the broken bones and bruises, but from a loss of the Light. From what I’d learned in the reports after the War, every Guardian had felt it. 

Now, though, even with my Light intact, I was feeling it … I wondered if it was because I wasn’t able to feel Cayde - not being connected to _his_ Light. 

Was he feeling the same thing? 

I hoped he was okay.

I hoped he was alive.

I had to find him.

That resolve forced me onward.

As I reached the end of the hall, the lights of the ship faded until I was in near total darkness, having to use my hand to feel along the wall and find my way. It got so dark, I nearly bumped into the end of the hallway and got a bit disoriented, not sure which way to go, until softly glowing red rings lit up along the floor to my left, revealing another corridor, two Phantoms hovering halfway down. I stared up at them for a few beats, then slowly made my way down the corridor, the first red ring instantly lighting up brighter around me as soon as I stepped into it. I went still and waited to see what, if anything, would happen, but nothing did, so I kept going, the ring I’d just left dimming again and the next one I stepped in lighting up. I looked around, trying to figure out the point of it, if anything, but it seemed it was just some kind of fancy motion design. I was sure, if he were with me, Cayde would’ve had some kind of off the cuff remark that would’ve made me smile.

Why did I suddenly feel like I was going to cry?

I jerked my head. “Stop,” I quietly berated myself, and kept walking.

Above me, as I approached the halfway point of the hall, the Phantoms above me stared blankly down at me, then faded away. I sighed, not sure if I was happy to see them go or sad to be all alone again. I shook my head at myself and continued walking until the corridor ended, and I stepped out into another room, finding myself face to face with the Nightmare of the Fanatic.

Motionless and crouched in a sunken part of the center of the room, he was flanked by two large triangular pillars, waiting, clawed hand gripping his staff and ready to face me again. I looked around. I didn’t see Cayde. But what I did see were two more Phantoms hovering above the Nightmare. One appearing to be a Titan. The other … a Hunter.

I wasn’t sure if that meant anything or not. Was Cayde facing the same thing? Was he wandering around the ship, looking for me, as I was for him, and coming face to face with his own Nightmares? Things he’d faced the way I’d faced Ghaul? 

If so, why wasn’t here? We’d faced the Fanatic together.

I was so worried about him. He’d already endured so much this past year.

I shook my head sadly.

“Cayde?” I whispered over the comm. “Cayde, I don’t know if you can hear me, but if you can … I’m okay. I’m alive. I’m here. And I’m going to find you, alright? Just like before. Just like Nessus.” I nodded, smiling a little. “Even if I have to search this whole ship for you and fight waves and waves of these Nightmares to do it, I’ll find you. I promise. Just hold on, okay? I’m coming.”

I left the comm open after speaking, hoping to hear something - anything - even if just the slightest crackle … but I only received static. I closed my eyes and sighed, hoping it somehow got through. That he knew I was here and looking for him. That I’d never give up.

I stood up straighter, steeling myself as I looked at the Nightmare, and stepped forward.

Light flashed, accompanied by that same low tearing sound as before as I was pulled somewhere else, almost instantly finding myself back at the entrance of the Watchtower. The Fanatic rose up onto his feet stretching all four of his arms out wide with a triumphant howl before the massive doors behind him. Beyond those, a burning wall of pure fire flowed upward into the unseen reaches of the tower. Like with Ghaul and his ship, everything was once again in hues or reds and oranges - a Nightmare plain like something out of Dante’s Inferno. Hellish and twisted. This was even more unsettling than being pulled in to face Ghaul. 

Ghaul had been a credible threat. He’d stolen the Light and killed many Guardians and civilians as he rained havoc down onto the City. But, when I saw the Fanatic in my dreams, all he brought with him was misery. Personal misery. And heartache. Reminding me of that awful day and everything that happened. Of losing Sundance. Of seeing Cayde unconscious, his body beaten and bloody. Nearly dying. It left a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that ate away at me from the inside and always made me fear … that the dream was reality. That when I woke up, everything that had happened since … would all be gone. That Cayde hadn’t actually survived. 

And I’d never see him again.

Every time that thought came to me, I felt like my heart was being ripped from my chest.

A tinging chime sounded. The Fanatic began to softly glow with a faint white light aura all around his body. He took up his staff, the stone at the end of it brightening with blue Arc Light. Bolts of energy crackled all around him and he slammed the end of the staff down to the ground with a heavy metallic clang. Lightning shot up from the top and spread all around like a thunderous storm, then flowed down and all around me, the ground beneath my feet becoming electrified. I leapt up into the air and out of the way, remembering this tactic of his. 

Heh. Cayde likely would have said something like: “Gets a whole new chance to have at us but can’t come up with any new tricks.”.

It was true, too. Everything about this, just like with Ghaul, was all the same as before. 

When we faced him in reality. 

And that made me realize … the Fanatic wasn’t capable of that. Not the one before me. Nor had Ghaul been. Because neither of them was real. Whatever was generating these Nightmares was using our memories. The forms and the attacks - the very sequences of events that had already happened. Even on the Moon, it’s why all the Nightmares there had the same M.O. and hadn’t tried anything new. Whatever was behind the Darkness only knew what we knew from our memories. It couldn’t go beyond that. 

“Hey! You gonna just stand there and get zapped or help out here, beautiful?!” 

My head snapped in the direction that came from and I gaped, eyes wide. “CAYDE?!”

“One and only!” Cayde told me, summersaulting through the air as he whipped three blades through the air, striking the Fanatic in the knee, making him screech in pain and stagger, reaching for the lads to yank them out.

“Oh ho! Now he’s pissed!” Cayde whooped as he landed on his feet and dodged behind a large rock nearby where I was. 

I hurried behind it with him as Stalkers, Ravagers, and Screebs seemed to crawl out of the cracks like ants out of a disturbed hill!

Cayde was reloading the Ace as I braced against the rock beside him, looking over at him, overjoyed. “Now, I know you’re all happy to see me - and I gotta admit, I would be, too - but fight now, hugs later, ‘kay?” He asked. A Screeb came garbling around the rock on his other side. “Whoa!” He yelped and shot it before it got too close, disgusting blue ooze splattering everywhere. “Huh. Maybe take a bath before hugs, too?” He muttered, brushing some goop off his shoulder. “Eew.” Cayde looked up as both of us heard more coming up around the rocks. “You get that side, I got this one. Meet in the middle?”

I nodded. “Meet in the middle,” I said and watched him jump back out into the fray, doing a running skid as he held himself up with one arm, shooting a Scorn that came leaping through the air at him. I went around the other way giving him cover, the two of us taking turns watching each other’s backs and landing shots on the Fanatic. 

I was waiting for the crucial moment that would make the Nightmare end and go back to the Pyramid, but this time, things weren’t playing out quite the same as with Ghaul. Even after slamming the Nightmare with all the hammers my Light could generate, weakening him beyond where I’d taken Ghaul, it took Cayde also landing three solid shots with the Golden Gun to the Fanatic’s chest and actually destroying the Nightmare and, even at that, we seemed stuck in the plain, not going back to the Pyramid.

“Yup,” Cayde nodded, coming over to where I was standing near the pile of drifting embers that had been the Fanatic Nightmare. “Don’t think he’s gettin’ back up from that.”

“Nope,” I agreed, nodding.

“Now, about that hug,” Cayde smiled and moved to wrap his arms around me.

I smiled back and lifted my cannon to his face, pulling back the hammer.

“WHOA!” Cayde jerked back, hands up. “What are you doing?!”

“You’re not Cayde,” I told him.

“Ais, what are you, crazy?! It’s me!” He said, gesturing to himself.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “You look like him. You move like him. You talk like him. You talk like him a little too well.”

Cayde frowned, shaking his head. “The hell are you talkin’ about?”

“When you stabbed the Fanatic in the leg with your knives and said ‘he’s pissed now’. It’s the same move you made when we really faced him. Same thing you said, too.”

“Oh, we - well - ” Cayde stammered, shrugging. “So? So what?”

“Who are you?” I demanded, not mentioning the key fact that I couldn’t sense a damned thing from him. 

“Ais, it’s _me_!” He insisted and spun around, showing himself off. “Come oooon!”

I aimed the gun the his feet and fired, the bullet missing him on purpose but kicking up the shimmering orange-red ground.

Cayde flinched back, looking down at where I’d shot the ground then back up at me. All humor left his face, his features hardening, his eyes like ice. I’d never seen his face like that before. Never seen that look before. Not directed at me. I actually felt the blood drain from my face as I shrunk back inside myself, my gun hand quivering a little, completely caught off guard. 

I could face any number of hellish things but this -

There was no way to really describe how he moved. I don’t even think there were words for it. It - It was as if time slowed for everything but him and his body jerked toward me in three deft moves, knocking the gun from my hand before he was right in my face, his usually beautiful blue eyes now red. He snarled at me before completely blindsiding me with the back of his hand, knocking my helmet off. His hands went around my throat and the plates around his mouth edged back in a snarl as he squeezed. “Did it ever occur to you maybe I took Sundance out on purpose?” He hissed. “That maybe I’d already seen what was to come? That maybe I wanted to die? To finally find an end to this wretched existence of fighting and dying over and over with no end in sight?!” He squeezed harder. “Peace from the hell of looking in the mirror and being reminded I’m no longer human! Peace from the constant reminders of all the people I’ve lost and would lose! Peace from the nightmares of tearing those I love apart! Peace from all the little flashes of memories that torment me day after day! You stole that from me you selfish bitch!” He spatt!

I grabbed at his wrists and pulled as hard as I could, unable to get them to budge. I even clawed at and pounded on them, feeling my windpipe being crushed, the pressure in my head getting stronger and stronger the tighter he squeezed, my vision blurring with tears that started running down the sides of my face as I weakly gasped. Cayde’s form slowly transformed into into Phantom and he rose up off the ground, pulling me with him. “The Light abandoned Cayde,” he hissed, his face close to mine, his voice sounding more like the jittery, static-laced voice Ghost spoke under control of the Darkness. “It left him for dead and kept him from being saved.”

I kept trying to pull his hands away but I had no more energy. My arms grew weak and heavy and I could no longer fight back. They fell limply to my sides and my vision grew dimmer and dimmer until there was nothing at all. 

Nothing but blackness.

And silence.

***

“Don’t do this to me, baby. Wake up. Please?”

The words were far away. Low and muffled. I felt something soft gently brush at my forehead and cheek; felt myself warm and being held, slowly rocked back and forth, a light kiss to the top of my head following the caresses. “C’mon ya stubborn Titan, wake up for me, okay?” 

The voice was louder now. Clearer.

Cayde?

“Y’know, this is takin’ the strong and silent type a bit too far for me, don’tchya? You really gonna make me leave here and hafta tell everyone we lost the Chosen One on my watch?”

Cayde! It was Cayde! And not just his voice, but really him! I could smell that light, spicy, musky cologne of his, mingled with the fresh citrus and mildly smoky finish. I could hear the steady swishing of his heart in my right ear where it rested on his chest and, most importantly, I could feel him! 

I could _feel_ him! 

A wave of relief washed over me and all through me, a smile tugging at my lips, feeling like I was coming out of a deep sleep. “So dramatic,” I weakly managed. 

It seemed appropriate.

“Ais!” He laughed and hugged me closer, and I could feel the elation and relief about him as his hand pet at the side of my head and held it lovingly while he planted careful, sweet kisses all over my face. 

It was so good to feel that longing ache leave me and know he was there again.

I managed to twist myself a little and get my arms around him, hugging him tight. “Thought I lost you for a bit there, Firefly,” I murmured.

He let out a chuckle. “Now who’s bein’ dramatic?” He asked.

I lifted my head away from his shoulder, blinking away tears, and looked up into his eyes. Those big, beautiful aqua eyes. They were so warm and alive, and filled me with even more relief than his voice had. I hugged him again. 

“What’s wrong?” He murmured, rubbing my back. “You okay?”

“I am now,” I nodded.

When we eased back from each other so we could see each other’s faces, both of us lovingly tracing the other’s features, as if recommitting them to memory, Cayde smiled a bit sadly and nodded. “Me, too,” he whispered and I knew he wasn’t referring to just being okay. Whatever had happened to me, it had happened to him, too - had pulled him into his own nightmares. He’d just woken up from them first. 

We’d take the time we needed to talk about it together once this was done. Once we got out of here and had time to ourselves to really let ourselves deal with it. Right now, though, we had to figure out _how_ to get out. 

I eased him back into one more hug, petting the back of his head and neck. “Ghost?” I asked.

Cayde shook his head. “He’s been quiet.”

“Right,” I sighed. I hoped Ghost was okay. That it was like when Sagira had taken over for a time. That he felt like he was just sleeping and wasn’t in any kind of pain. 

Eventually, both Cayde and I relaxed the hug some and I took the moment to look around and get my bearings. Seemed we were both back together, sitting in one of the corridors of the Pyramid, the lights here a bit brighter than in other parts we’d seen, the light actually reflecting off the black stone this time, not being pulled into it. I noticed my helmet and cannon were laying on the floor nearby. 

“You okay to stand?” Cayde asked.

“Yeah,” I nodded and he got up, helping me to my feet and even collected my helmet and gun for me. He handed me the cannon and smiled reassuringly at me, then lifted the helmet to my head and eased it on. 

“There she is,” he smiled. “Ready to kick names and take ass.”

I chuckled at the deliberate mis-saying and Cayde smiled back, affectionately knocking on the side of my helmet and nodding before taking the Ace out of its holster. “So which way did you come from?” I asked.

“That way,” he said, pointing behind us. “And it’s all just more-a the same as this here,” he told me, making a casual gesture around us.

“Well, in that case, we go forward,” I offered. I took a step in that direction then paused and looked at him. “Try not to disappear on me this time, yeah? That wasn’t fun.”

“Me?!” Cayde asked, fingers on his chest, looking affronted. “I’m not the one who disappeared, you are. Whoosh! POP! Sucked into the nether realm!”

“The nether realm?” I asked, grinning. “Were you up watching that Ghost Blasters film again?”

“Ghost _busters_ and maybe. Festival Of The Lost is next week, after all. But it was kinda seemin’ relevant in some instances here,” he nodded. “I swearta Light, though, if we get to wherever we need to go in here and this thing says its name is Gozer, I’m out. Come outta this thing covered in rancid marshmallow,” he muttered.

I chuckled. I knew what he was doing and I absolutely adored him for it. I’d needed it. I was sure he did, too. He bumped his hip to mine and winked at me, the two of us making our way through the corridor.

The further down the corridor we went, the darker it began to grow. Phantoms of Guardians began appearing along the sides, coming out from the shadows as we passed by. Suddenly, they began moaning, screaming and wailing all around us, some convulsing and writhing before dropping lifeless to the floor and fading away. Cayde and I pressed out backs together, turning ourselves around in the space, startled by the violent display.

“One by one, Guardians fell, slaughtered by their enemies,” Ghost told us, his voice still strange and overcome by whatever possessed him, the sound of it jarring in the now silent and empty corridor. “The Light stood by and did nothing and a great disaster ensued. In Light, there is only death.”

I didn’t realize I’d been softly panting until there was no other sound but myself and Cayde, breathing, trying to calm ourselves down.

“Right,” Cayde sighed. “We, uh … we don’t vacation here anymore. Strike this place right off the list, yeah?”

“I’m good with that,” I nodded in agreement. Looking off to my right, the end of the corridor came to an end, a triangular stone archway leading into a long stairway that appeared to go up further into the Pyramid, a couple stories at least.

“Well … when the only way you can go is up …” Cayde shrugged.

We headed up the stairs, large angular ledges framing the sides, following the flow of the steps, red lights set into the bases and giving the space that more threatening feel once again. More Phantoms appeared, this time they just hovered along the sides, silent, and watched us as we made our way to a brief platform before starting up a second set, and then a third, that shimmering, prismatic gray mist growing heavier the further up we went.

“Come to us. Do not be afraid,” Ghost spoke. “Respite lies ahead.”

I got a sinking feeling again and looked over at Cayde. This time, he shifted closer to me, slipping his free hand around my waist, keeping the Ace aimed ahead with his other, as if afraid we’d be pulled apart again. I switched gun hands and did the same, my arm slipping around his wast, perhaps holding on a bit tighter than necessary, afraid of facing that crazed doppelgänger of him again. He didn’t complain and only seemed to return the tighter embrace.

As we made our way up the last set of stairs, a shape began appearing within the mist. A tall, unmoving figure, arms spread out and back, head lifted to the sky. It looked to be feminine in form and was draped in a full body veil, leaving all traces of its features undetectable. On either side of it, two large, square obelisks stood, half the height of the statue, creating what appeared to be a kind of altar - a place to worship the figure before us.

A softly glowing orb suddenly appeared out of nowhere above the statue and slowly lowered itself down to us as we approached, growing brighter, until the glow became like subtle flames all around it. The Phantoms hovered, scattered all around, some up high, some down near us, all of them watching. Waiting. 

The final landing was a diamond overlay, outlined in shining gold and the statue stood at the heart of it, surrounded by Phantoms that slowly grew more visible within the orb’s light. Cayde and I looked from side to side, standing there, waiting, but none of them moved, nor did they fade away. My eyes fixed on the orb and I frowned at it, recognizing it. “Cayde?”

“Yeah?” He asked, his eyes darting around, keeping watch for anything that might move. 

“Does that look familiar to you?” I asked him, tilting my head toward the orb.

He fixed his eyes on it, eyebrows furrowing. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ve seen that before. A lot.”

I nodded. “All around Nessus. Places on Mercury.”

“The Vex,” he uttered. “There are statues holding orbs like that.”

I nodded again.

“What the hell’s goin’ on?” He lowly whispered as we tentatively stepped closer to it, wanting to get a better look.

This time, there was no flash. 

No sound. 

No nothing. 

We were in the Pyramid. And then we weren’t. 

A soft, warm breeze lightly brushed against my skin. My helmet was gone again. I stood, held in place, my vision slowly coming into focus as black fog swirled and pulling back, gradually revealing hues of greens, reds, and white. Giant sandstone formations, like those on Io, and smooth-faced cliffs like those of Nessus, rose up like monuments against the soft green skyline in the far distance, glittering rays of light from an unknown sun shining down. Nearly every surface that wasn’t stone was covered in thousands of red and white flowers spanning as far as the eye could see.

“The Black Garden,” I uttered.

“It’s a lot more colorful than I imagined,” Cayde quietly said to me, his jaw slack in awe as he took in everything around us and peered over the edge of the cliff a few steps in front of us. He lowly whistled.

Out the corner of my eye, I caught a pointed shape just coming into my view and snapped my head in its direction, seeing just one at first, and then another and another, until I realized a whole fleet of Pyramid ships was in the sky around us, the sight surreal as they were bathed in light and billowy clouds, a single planet among them, seeming to peek out of the atmosphere from somewhere much, much farther away.

“You made it,” a unified voice spoke, sounding both masculine and feminine. It was familiar in a way, and not unlike how the Traveler sounded when it had spoken to us on Io.

Cayde and I let go of each other so we could fully turn and see what it was. That was when I also realized neither of us had our guns - or any weapon for that matter. 

I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. Being unarmed in the Black Garden was one of the very last things on my list. 

A figure stood off in the distance among the flowers near what appeared to be the side of a partial Vex gate, its curved edge rising and curling up out of the earth where the ground sharply dropped off. Behind the figure, more mountainous shapes formed along the horizon, a heavy fog settled in low and made anything more than that too difficult to make out. 

Whatever this figure was, it’s body and face were also occluded just enough, even squinting, I couldn’t make anything out. 

“We have heard your cries for help,” it said, and I could have sworn that was Cayde’s voice. “And soon, we will answer,” it told us, the tone sounding more threatening than reassuring. I looked at Cayde as he looked at me, then both of us looked back at the form, now walking toward us, its body jerking and shifting, as if it were having trouble holding a single shape.

I felt Cayde’s arm go in front of me, easing me back as he took a step back as well. I grabbed his arm and looked over my shoulder. We didn’t have anywhere to go. The ground dropped away in a few short steps.

Cayde tilted his head, squinting his optics as the figure grew closer. “Who are you?” He calmly demanded.

“Don’t you recognize us?” It asked, coming into the light. Cayde and I both gasped, and each of us took another step back away from it, the figure’s form jerking and twitching like some bad connection on a view screen as it switched from looking like me and then like Cayde, and then back again - as if it couldn’t distinguish between us. 

The real unsettling thing was, in the midst of the convulsive switching we saw flashes of muscle and bone and wires and a metal frame, as if it was attempting to reform wholly into each of us from the inside out.

I gripped Cayde’s arm tighter as he tried to protectively ease me more behind him. I slipped, quickly regaining my balance as I looked down to see part of the edge of the ground I was standing on crumble and break away, falling into what looked like and endless pit. I looked back up at the thing in front of us as it got closer. “Cayde …” I whispered, my voice trembling. What the hell was that thing?! His arm tightened around me. 

“We are not your friend,” it told us, sounding more like me than Cayde. I felt Cayde puff up his chest a bit, leaning back, bracing himself as it closed in on us. “We are not your enemy,” it continued, its voice now more like Cayde’s, only lower. Deeper. It sent chills up and down my spine and made all the hairs on my body stand on end.

It then leaned in close and menacingly grinned, both forms instantly snapping into one as its body stilled, a warped composite of Awoken and Exo, male and female, all joined and hideously twisted together. “We are your … salvation.”

The glowing eyes were the last thing I remembered before falling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need a troll grin emote here ... 
> 
> Hehehe!
> 
> Hope you liked my rendition of how the whole Pyramid thing should've gone down. I liked the idea of it being a bit more twisted and frightening than what it was in the game.
> 
> More as soon as I can! ❤️


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little cuddle moment I thought you'd all enjoy. Decided to post what I had now and finish the rest up in the next chapter so you all had something to tide you over until you can get in to play Beyond Light! 😁
> 
> Enjoy!

“Hey, Amanda,” I smiled, coming over to her station in the Hanger. “Thought you might like a cup of coffee.”

“Oh, hey girl! Yeah, that’s great! Thanks!” She took the offered cup I handed to her.

“How is she?” I asked, jutting my chin up toward Cayde’s Queen Of Hearts, noticing a panel under the thrusters was open.

“This ol’ girl? Even after all-a these years and all the long and crazy trips Cayde’s made in her, she just keeps on goin’,” Amanda nodded, sipping her coffee. “But, this time, not without some extra help, I’m afraid.”

“So the thrusters were gone on her, huh?” I asked, peeking up inside the open compartment, noticing some burn marks on the metal.

“Yup,” she confirmed, nodding again. “Burned right out. Probably that last trip to the EDZ. The turbulence from the storm y’all went through’s likely what did it. But nothin’ that can’t be fixed. Got her all put back together save a couple couplers she needs. They’re bein’ sent up tomorrow mornin’. I’ll get ‘em hooked in in no time and that’ll finish her up. Meanwhile, just gonna make sure everything else is in top shape, well oiled, and this beauty will be purring’ like a kitten.”

I grinned. “I’m sure that news made Cayde happy.”

“Oh yeah,” she told me, giving the side of the thruster a pat. “Hey, uh … Is he alright? I mean, I know some stuff went down on the Moon and all but … I don’t know. He’s quieter than normal. Like somethin’s botherin’ ‘im.”

I nodded. “It was … just a hell of a rough mission,” I told her, unable to say more. “But he’ll be alright,” I assured her.

“Mm,” she nodded. “You doin’ okay?”

“Me? Oh, pfft. Yeah,” I told her, waving her concerns off with a smile. “Just tired. But, hey,” I raised the other cup of coffee I was holding. “Long as these keep coming, I’m right as the rain.” I frowned. “Well, either that or I’m bouncing off the walls.”

Amanda chuckled and I smiled again, then gave her a nod and headed over to Cayde’s workstation. I knew he wasn’t there. But Colonel was, and I stopped to check on her food and her bowl of water, seeing both were recently filled and fresh, a sprig of parsley floating on top of the water. I smirked at seeing that, then gave her a gentle little pat and let her be to peck at her muesli, heading for the stairs that took me up to the catwalk above.

When I got to our usual sitting spot, I saw Cayde was there, sitting with his knees casually drawn up, arms folded and resting on top of them. Ghost was hovering near his left shoulder and they were quietly talking, Cayde pointing out at a ship coming in. He and Ghost seemed to be watching it carefully as it was piloted into the Hanger, then the two of them leaned over to the left, looking down to the landing pad below, and watched as the Guardian flying it, a Warlock, got out. Cayde suddenly let out a triumphant “HA! Told ya!” and clapped before gently nudging Ghost with his elbow.

“That was just a lucky guess,” Ghost grumped.

“Luck, schmuck! I just know my ships,” Cayde told him. “That’s three you owe me.”

“Two,” Ghost told him.

“Three!” Cayde augured. “There’s this one,” he said, holding up his thumb, “and the blue one,” he added sticking up his index finger, about to say something else before Ghost cut him off.

“And that’s it,” Ghost said.

“No. No, no. There was also the red one. When we first sat down. The one with the funny antenna thing on the top.”

“We weren’t playing then!” Ghost insisted. “That does’t count.”

Cayde let out a dramatic and lamenting sigh. “Fiiiine. Cheater.”

“Two what?” I asked, smirking at both of them as I approached.

“Hi, beautiful!” Cayde smiled. Ghost came over, buzzing around my head in greeting, making me smile, before going back to hovering with Cayde. “My Little Buddy here owes me two rezzes, no questions asked, and no snide or admonishing comments.”

“Rezzes?” I frowned, handing Cayde the cup of coffee I’d brought.

“Thanks,” he nodded and scooted forward a bit, leaving room for me. “And, yeah. You know? How he always has somethin’ he thinks is witty to say when I die?”

Ghost rolled his eye as I sat down behind Cayde, letting him scoot back and get comfortable, laying back against my chest. 

“That’s because you usually die in a way that bears commenting on,” I said, unable to help snickering a little as I slipped my arms around his middle, cuddling him.

Cayde happily sighed, wiggling as he settled in, laying his arms atop mine and sipped the coffee. “Is there a better way to die than spectacularly?” He asked me, smirking over his shoulder.

“I suppose not,” I admitted, chuckling again.

“Right! So, I get three ‘Ghost - no - snide comments’ rezzes.”

“Two,” Ghost insisted.

Cayde groaned. “Two,” he conceded, sticking his tongue out at Ghost. “Ruin my fun.”

“Yes, Cayde. That is the purpose of my existence. To ruin your fun. Oh, whatever shall I do without that?” He sarcastically uttered.

I snorted a laugh as Cayde flipped Ghost off. “So, you already had plans for dying, hm?” I asked as Ghost turned and wiggled his ‘butt’ end at Cayde, to which Cayde gently flicked him, causing Ghost to yelp in surprise and bounce forward through the air.

I laughed again!

“Hell yeah!” Cayde nodded, as if he and Ghost weren’t goading each other. “Got a bunch-a New Lights coming in tomorrow. I’m gonna leap off the overlook, piss Zavala off, and scare the shit outta them as I land down in the middle of the checkpoint by the gates!” He gleefully stated, nodding. “SPLAT! Two birds with one stone, you might call it!”

“You are not,” I said in disbelief. He looked back at me again, his cheek plates lifting in a grin, eyebrows waggling. “Oh, Light, you are,” I muttered, dropping my forehead to his shoulder.

He rumbled a deep, playful laugh and kissed the top of my head, then settled back, drinking more of his coffee as Ghost came back over and settled on Cayde’s knee, Cayde lightly petting him.

I lifted my head off his shoulder and looked at Ghost with what I was sure was a pained expression on my face, despite the smirk I felt tugging at my lips. “And what was it, exactly, that you two were betting on that you lost?”

“Telling what class of Guardian was flying what ship as it came in,” Ghost told me.

“Really?” I asked, eyebrows rising, then tilted my head to Cayde. “So, Mr. _Experienced_ Vanguard - ” Cayde snorted the coffee, and I could only guess my use of the word ‘experienced’ had struck an amused chord! I grinned. “Just how do you tell which class is flying which ship?”

Cayde cleared his throat as he wiped some dribbled coffee off his chin with the back of his gloved hand. “If I told ya that, then he’d know,” he said of Ghost. “Then I wouldn’t have a leg up.”

“Maybe you could tell me later, then?” I purred.

He arched an eyebrow at me, looking me up and down. “Maybe,” he offered, his tone playful.

I grinned and gave him a kiss. He smiled then set his cup down and tilted his head back onto my shoulder, letting out a sigh, and closed his eyes as he resettled his arms back on top of mine. I tilted my head against his and closed my own eyes as well. “Are you okay?” I softly asked him. It wasn’t that I couldn’t sense if he was or not, it was just offering up an opening to talk if he wanted to. 

“What makes you think I’m not? Pickin’ up on something?” He murmured.

“A light ebb,” I nodded. “But Amanda asked me if you were okay. She said you’ve been more quiet than usual.”

“Mm,” he grunted, sounding as if he was letting himself drift a bit.

I opened my eyes, lifting my head back up as I looked at him. “You haven’t been sleeping, have you?” I gently asked, noticing Ghost tilt himself to glance at Cayde as well.

Cayde opened his eyes a little and looked at me with a seeming tired expression. He blinked as he averted my gaze then subtly shook his head, closing his eyes again.

“Baby, why didn’t you tell me?” I murmured, giving him a little squeeze.

“I didn’t want you to worry,” he told me. “And I really didn’t wanna talk about it,” he confessed. “‘Sides, you’ve spent a lotta sleepless nights up with me already. I wanted ya to be able to get some sleep of your own.”

I softly smiled and kissed the criss-crossed weaving ties of his leather shoulder pad. He opened his eyes again, slightly arching his right eyebrow as he looked at me as best he could. “Thank you for being so sweet and thoughtful. But there isn’t a tally, you know?” I gently told him. “No cut off point as to how many times you can need me.”

“I know,” he murmured back. “Just feel guilty.” He frowned. “Feel like things are really one-sided sometimes.”

“Do you feel like I’m not sharing enough with you?” I asked, genuinely wanting to know. If that was the case, I’d correct it. I knew I had a bad habit of being tight-lipped and not sharing a lot. I was much better at it now but I knew it was possible that sometimes I could shut off without realizing it. 

“No,” he said, shaking his head against my shoulder. “No, I don’t feel that way,” he told me. “You share tons-a things with me all the time. I know you’ve been watchin’ yourself to make sure you don’t close off like you used to. And I love that you are always trying to be better there even though it totally goes against your stubborn Titan nature,” he fondly jabbed, making me lightly chuckle. “So, no,” he smiled. “It’s not that. It’s … It’s on my end. I feel … I feel like I’m overly burdening you with things that, in the past, I’ve been able to handle just fine on my own.”

“And by ‘handling them just fine on your own’ you mean you’d bottle them all up until you got grouchy and short - tempered, and then head out to the Wilds to shoot at things or blow something - or yourself - up, don’t you?” I affectionately asked.

“Is this an ‘I told you about those times’ thing, or a ‘I just know you really well’ thing?” He asked, a twinge of amusement in his tone.

“I know you really well,” I nodded, smirking.

He lightly chuckled.

“Cayde,” I nuzzled the side of his face and kissed his cheek. “If something’s bothering you, especially bad enough you’re not sleeping, then tell me. I’ll listen. It doesn’t matter what it is. I’m always here for you.”

He smiled and closed his eyes, tilting his head, touching his brow to mine. “I love you, you know that?” He whispered.

“I love you, too,” I whispered back, feeling relief wash over him.

He made a faint nod then eased back and cleared his throat. “Okay, so … Pyramids … What you told me - about what happened with Ghaul and then with Fikrul … and the Phantom me?” I nodded. “Yeah … well … I wasn’t totally honest. Um … when I told ya the you in the Mindbender Nightmare didn’t do or say anything different.”

I closed my eyes and sighed. I’d had a feeling he wasn’t telling me the truth about that but I hadn’t wanted to push him on it. When we’d woken up in the makeshift infirmary set up at the Sanctuary on the Moon, the only thing that had mattered to us was that we were each okay, as well as Ghost. It had only been a couple days and, even with the ordered leave time Zavala had given us to get some rest and recover, it hadn’t been very restful. I kept having nightmares of the Cayde Phantom - either attacking me or, in worse cases, just hovering there, the dreams so vivid I woke up scared he really had died back at the prison and the Phantom was the reminder. Of course, it was easy to see why Cayde hadn’t told me about his nightmares and about what had really happened. He’d wanted to be there to help me the way I’d helped him. It was understandable and I certainly wasn’t mad at him. Each time I’d woken up, he was nearby, either laying in the bed beside me, our sitting up in the chair in the corner of our bedroom reading or writing in his journal.

I should’ve realized sooner, though. Realized he wasn’t sleeping at all. But I’d been so grateful to realize he was right there, alive, just fine, and oh so patient with me, each time I needed to touch his chest and make sure the bullet hole was gone.

“I’m not sensing you wanting to smack me, so …” Cayde sheepishly stated.

“I’d never smack you,” I softly said, smiling, giving him a hug. “Toss you off the Tower maybe,” I said, and he chuckled, hugging my arms to his chest. “But never smack you,” I assured, giving him another kiss. “I’m glad you were there for me. Every time I woke up. I was so afraid you wouldn’t be.”

“I was happy to be there. Always will be, beautiful. ‘Sides, it felt good to be the one offering the comfort for a change. And that’s not to say I don’t love the hugs and reassurances and all that. You’re amazing at being there. Just think that with the anniversary and Festival of the Lost in a couple days … I’m … trynna not go tumbling off that cliff again.”

“You think you would?” I asked him.

He arched his eyebrow again as he looked at me. “To tell ya the truth, I’m not sure. S’why I wasn’t really upset postponing going back to Lhasa til tomorrow,” he said, idly petting Ghost, who I knew was intently listening, despite the light of his eye dimming as it drifted shut. “But not sleeping for three days now … I can feel it gettin’ to me. Even bein’ an Exo. Why I’ve been more quiet than usual. I don’t wanna snap at anyone.”

“Are you deliberately keeping yourself awake, or can you really not sleep at all?” I asked.

“Little of both,” he admitted. “Started out as not being able to, now … don’t really want to - even though I want to.”

“This might be a silly question and I don’t even know if you’d want it if there was but, is there anything that can be done or given to you to make you sleep?” I asked.

He snorted. “Like an Exo sleeping pill?” He asked.

I nodded.

He shook his head. “Not that I know of. And I wouldn’t want it even if there was. I don’t like being forced to sleep. Bad memories.”

“The dreams?” I asked. He glanced at me out the corner of his eye as if I should know the answer and I frowned before it dawned on me. “Ooh! Oh, shit. Cayde, I’m sorry.” I hadn’t thought that would be a trigger to some fragments of memory from Clovis Bray.

He smiled, shaking his head, petting my arm. “It’s okay. No, I’ll … I’ll get myself to sleep one way or another. Not sure how long it’ll last, but I’ll find a way.”

“I might know a way,” I murmured, kissing the side of his jaw. “But it’ll have to wait until after the briefing.”

He actually purred a little. “That so?”

“Mmm hmm,” I nodded. “If you think you’d be in the mood.”

“Baby, even as tired as I am, nothing could stop that mood where you’re concerned. You remember our first night together? How tired we both were?”

I grinned and nuzzled him. “I’d never forget that night. The most wonderful moment of my life.”

“Oooh? Better than our wedding day, hm?” He rumbled.

“In its own way,” I nodded, taking his hand, entwining our fingers as I lovingly pressed my face to the side of his hood, breathing in his subtle but heady scent. I could feel the warm elation about him. “You gave me something absolutely incredible that night.”

“Really?” He asked, sounding surprised. “I mean, I know it’s not, like, a god penis or anything bu- OW! You said you wouldn’t smack me!” 

“I changed my mind, twit,” I grinned as he snickered.

“So, what was it? If not my, uh … incredible manhood?” Cayde purred.

I couldn’t wipe the amused grin off my face, even as I shook my head lamentingly. “You’re heart,” I told him as if it wasn’t obvious.

His features softened considerably and his aqua eyes became profoundly warm. He reached up and caressed my cheek, leaning in closer to me, tilting his head for a kiss. “Ais, I - ” The comm beeped and we both jumped, startled out of the moment before frowning at the interruption, Ghost perking up from his lulled stupor. Sighing at the poor timing, Cayde pressed the dial on his wrist communicator. “Go for Cayde. And, it better be good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gonna spend a couple days playing Beyond Light once it finishes downloading and is ready to play, so that'll slow me down a little, but I will be writing in between and have another chapter soon! Have fun, Guardians! 😘


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took me a while. A series of pain in the butt events with home reno and migraines to boot slowed me way down on this one. Hopefully the NSFW part of it will make it all up to you. 😜 Also, a HUGE thank you to CosmicRobotMenace for a little 'inspiration' at the end here. 😎
> 
> Enjoy!  
> ~Ais ❤️

Normally, interruptions were something we could laugh off. It always seemed our luck at the worst possible moment. In the midst of a kiss, like earlier, or just as we’d started to get really cuddly, that giddy, excited feeling just starting to build … and something would come along and totally spoil it. We were used to it, though. We were Guardians. Came with the territory.

This time, though, there was no laughing it off and an incoming rainstorm only seemed to add to the sombre mood set for the rest of the day.

Two of Cayde’s Hunter scouts and their Ghosts were lost to the Hive while leading troops into the labyrinth of caves that snaked down below the Scarlet Keep, their deaths permanent. Zavala had called us into the briefing room early to inform Cayde of the situation as the reports came in.

I didn’t say anything out loud, not wanting to sound insensitive, but, to myself, I kept asking: Why did this have to happen now? Why did it have to happen during the anniversary of the prison and Sundance’s death? I wish it hadn’t happened at all. Losing anyone was terrible and heartbreaking but … Traveler, of all times.

Fucking Hive.

A loud bang startled me out of my thoughts, making me jump a little. I blinked, seeing it had been Cayde slamming his fist on the table before bracing himself up over it on his fists, head dropped forward, shaking it. “Damn it. I shoulda been on toppa this not screwin’ around in the Hanger like a wet behind the ears New Light,” he grumbled, berating himself.

I set my hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “It’s not your fault,” I gently told him.

He lifted his head enough to look at me. “I’m the Hunter Vanguard, Ais,” he gently reminded me, his voice sounding tired and as defeated as I sensed he was feeling. 

He didn’t need to tell me more than that. That single sentence encompassed a whole explanation of why he felt at fault and it left no room for argument. As much as I hated it, I knew he was right. It was part of being a Vanguard. He was responsible. And I knew he always felt the death of every single Guardian under his watch.

No doubt even more so right now.

“They bringing them back?” Cayde asked Zavala.

“Yes,” the other man quietly answered with a nod, his usual rich baritone laced with sympathy. “They should arrive within the hour.” 

Cayde nodded, his gaze falling back to the empty tabletop. He sighed.

I slid my hand form Cayde’s shoulder down his back, rubbing softly as I twisted enough to get a good look at his face. “I know it’s important for you to be there,” I murmured. “I got this,” I assured him, regarding the briefing. He lifted his head to me once again, his dimmed optics seeking out my eyes, looking at me with mild disbelief that I’d throw myself so willingly to the wolves. For Cayde, though, I’d do anything. “I’ll take care of the briefing and going over our reports. Take Ghost and go see your Hunters home.”

His eyes slowly darted back and forth, searching mine. “You sure?”

“More than,” I told him, nodding.

Wordlessly, he shifted toward me and gave me a hug. I hugged him back kissing the side of his hood as I looked past Cayde’s shoulder at Ghost who bobbed as if to silently say he’d stay with him. I nodded then eased back, lightly petting Cayde’s chest before brushing off his shoulders and carefully straightening his cloak near where the clasps were, Ikora and Zavala silently standing nearby. 

Cayde leaned forward, pressing his forehead to mine in a way that was almost like a kiss. “Thank you,” he whispered. “Love you.”

“I love you,” I whispered back before he eased away and turned, heading out with Ghost.

“He hasn’t slept since the Moon, has he?” Ikora asked, stepping over to me, he eyes on the door.

I shook my head and sighed. “Not even taking a break like he usually does to destress.” He had been reading and writing in his journals, though, but that didn’t seem to be helping much.

“We read his report,” Ikora continued, her tone mild and sagely comforting. “It didn’t sound like Cayde. It was straight to the point and lacking in his usual embellished gusto.” She looked at me. “Did you write it for him?” It wasn’t an accusation, just a curious inquiry.

I shook my head. “No. He wrote it. I read it, though.”

“He’s holding something back,” Ikora concluded.

I nodded. “Yeah. And, normally, I’d have brought it up and tried talking with him about it but I didn’t want to push him. Not right now. There are other things on his mind this week.”

“Sundance and the prison,” Zavala noted. 

“Mm hmm,” I affirmed, not elaborating more on that, although Zavala was aware we were planning to head out to Lhasa tomorrow, the flight plan request already sent in and approved.

“And now the loss of two Hunters …” Zavala stated, leaving the sentence hanging in the air. I felt the weight of his hand on my shoulder, realizing he’d stepped over to me without my even realizing it. I looked at his hand and then up at his face. “You’ve never been with Cayde when a fallen Guardian has been brought back, have you?”

I shook my head. “It’s one of those things he prefers to take care of alone.”

Zavala gave a nod. “As long as I’ve been here, there has never been a Vanguard who I’ve known to take each death quite as personally as Cayde does. A Guardian comes back, it is our duty to see they are cared for and honored as they should be. But Cayde …”

“It started with Andal’s death,” Ikora continued. “When Andal was in repose, Cayde bought a bottle of the City’s finest whisky and brought it in with him. He poured a drink, toasted Andal, and then spoke a kind of prayer.”

“A prayer?” I asked, curious.

She gave a nod. “He calls it the Journey’s End Prayer. I asked him about it once. He said it was something he found a long, long time ago in an old book. And it struck something in him that has stayed with him all these years. He didn’t elaborate further.”

I frowned. Cayde had never mentioned anything about it to me, not even when speaking about Andal. I hadn’t even seen any reference to it in any of his journals. 

“You know how he is with death,” Ikora said, apparently picking up on my surprise. “He doesn’t like to talk about those things.”

I nodded. That was true. It was difficult to get him to open up about that stuff.

Still, I wondered why he hadn’t said anything. Although, just because we were married - even bonded - it didn’t mean I had a right to know everything. Cayde was entitled to his privacy. I was still curious, though.

The doors to the briefing room opened then, interrupting my thoughts and our quiet discussion. Shaxx was the first to step in, giving us a nod in greeting as opposed to his usual boisterous one. Considering the subject was the discovery of the Pyramid ship and what we’d learned from gaining access to it, it hardly seemed the time for anything but sombre. Other members of the Consensus, including Saladin and a few representatives from the Praxic Order, all quietly speaking amongst themselves, came walking in not far behind him, some with nervous and worried looks on their faces as they caught sight of me. I half expected to see Eris as well but I also figured Ikora would likely be speaking for her or, at the most, Eris would speak over the comms, her attentions firmly on the Moon and the Pyramid. To her, this meeting was just a waste of time and, in some ways, I was sure she was right. Cayde told me these things usually wound up being a bickering or shouting match because each party had their own ideas on how best to proceed. That was usually when he saw no point to staying and would slip out. 

As everyone made their way around the room to what I assumed were seats they all usually sat in, I found myself suddenly nervous. I could face any number of horrors out beyond our walls, but the eyes of some of the highest authorities of our City all on me, scrutinizing me and itching to throw questions at me that demanded answers I likely didn’t have … 

“Don’t worry,” Zavala murmured in my ear, leaning close to me. “It’s not nearly as bad as Cayde makes it out to be.” His features were neutral, but his tone held a bit of amusement that set me at ease. I smiled appreciatively then took a breath and a seat, bringing up the reports on the data pad that Cayde and I had written up. 

Here we went.

***

I hadn’t been able to get a read off Cayde since he’d left the briefing room. I was hoping it was because he finally got some sleep but, when I walked into the apartment, I saw him changed out of his armor and into his pajama bottoms and a loose linen top, casually sitting in the lounge chair by the patio window, feet pulled up with him and staring out at the pouring rain that had finally rolled in.

“He’s been like that since we got home,” Ghost whispered to me, coming over. “I tried talking to him, but he just … I haven’t seen him like this since Sundance.”

I nodded, lightly petting Ghost’s shell, and toed off my shoes, going over to Cayde.

“Hey, Firefly,” I softly greeted as I reached him, crouching down in front of him, petting his legs. He jumped, startled, and snorted as if being woken up from a deep sleep even though his eyes had been open the whole time. When I could suddenly sense him again, I realized he had in fact dozed off. I smiled a little, glad for it. “Finally fell asleep, huh?” I asked.

“Did I?” He asked, looking around as he settled.

“Well, that explains why you didn’t answer me when I tried talking to you,” Ghost said from over my shoulder.

“You were talking to me?” Cayde asked him, eyebrows rising then furrowing as he tried to recall. Ghost bobbed. “Oh. I’m sorry, Buddy.”

“It’s alright. Are you okay?” Ghost asked. 

Cayde rubbed at his forehead. “In a word, no. But I’ve been worse,” he admitted, sounding as tired as his posture denoted.

“I’m sorry it turned out to be such a shitty day, sweetheart,” I murmured, petting his thigh as I rested my cheek to his drawn up knee. 

His eyebrows rose again in mild surprise at my statement before he kindly smiled, shaking his head. “Not your fault.”

“I know. Still …” I shrugged and he smiled again. “You want to talk about it?” I asked.

He let his head drop back to the headrest and loll to the side, looking back out the window. He shrugged. “Don’t even know where to begin.”

“You don’t have to,” I assured him.

“It’s not that,” he told me with a quick shake of his head. “I … I feel lost, Ais,” he uttered as he looked down at the City sprawled out below, gray and misty from the rainstorm. “Ever since being in that Pyramid I … I’m here and then I’m back there, but not there. Someplace that looks like there and I … I can’t pinpoint it. I keep hearing a voice and … whispers. A gunshot that echos for what seems like forever. And it’s cold. It’s so damned cold even though there’s fire everywhere and I’m totally naked but I can’t feel any of it. I can’t feel anything. Everything’s different. I’m different.” He looked down at his hands, opening and closing them and I started getting worried.

I looked at Ghost then back at Cayde. “Sweetheart, I’m not understanding,” I gently said. “What do you mean you’re different?” 

He didn’t answer, he just stared at his hands, looking back and forth at them and frowning as if they were an oddity he was completely unfamiliar with.

“Cayde?”

He looked up at me but his eyes didn’t seem to register me. Or Ghost. “They’re not metal,” he said, sounding surprised they weren’t, and looked at his hands again, turning them over as he showed them to me, flexing them and wiggling his fingers. 

What was he talking about? I reached out and took them, holding them lovingly, brushing my thumbs over his knuckles. “Cayde, who am I?” I carefully asked him.

He managed to pull his eyes away from my hands holding his, looking at me again, his eyebrows twitching curiously before his gaze slowly drifted away from me and back out the window.

“Hey, hey,” I gently said, giving his hands a little squeeze. “Cayde, look at me, okay?” He eventually did. “Do you know where you are right now?”

He stared blankly at me for a moment, then frowned and blinked a few times, shaking his head as if trying to clear it, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “Ais?”

Relieved he knew my name, I smiled a little, trying to hide my worry as I nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s me,” I assured him, letting his hands go, rubbing his arms. “Hey, um …” I looked at Ghost, who looked back at me with the same concern in his eye as I was feeling, then back at Cayde. “How ‘bout I make you a nice hot cup of tea? Hm?” I suggested. “Warm you up and maybe help you relax? Try to get you to sleep? Sound good?” Maybe that was the problem. Whenever he got overly stressed or there was some kind of memory trigger, he tended to get a bit lost for a few minutes.

He nodded. “I’m really tired.”

“I know you are,” I softly murmured with a nod of my own.

“Am I gonna have to do another test after?” He asked me.

“A test?” I asked, surprised by the question, frowning. “What test?”

He opened his mouth then paused, looking confused. “What was I saying?” He asked me.

“Cayde, who am I?” I asked him again.

“Ais,” he answered, then his eyes widened and I sensed the worry from him as it registered why I’d ask. “I … I went away just then, didn’t I?”

“A few times," I nodded.

“Oh, fuck,” he uttered, looking around a bit frantically. 

“Hey, look at me,” I told him, rubbing his arms again. “Cayde?” He finally looked at me. “How many times has this been happening since the Pyramid?”

His right leg started twitching nervously. 

“Cayde?”

“A … A few,” he hesitantly admitted.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I gently asked.

“You needed me. You were having awful nightmares. You and Ghost, and I … I just … you helped me through so much, I didn’t … I …” He winced and rubbed at his forehead. “I’m sorry.” 

I admired and appreciated his love and attentiveness in that regard. I really did. And I understood his desire to return all I’d shown him after the prison. But he’d clearly pushed himself too far. “It’s okay,” I assured him. "But come on,” I told him, standing, carefully tugging on his hand. “Let’s go to the infirmary. Have them check you out just to be sure nothing’s wrong.”

“What?” He asked, looking up at me. “No, no,” he shook his head. “I’m fine. Really, I - ”

“Cayde …” I leaned over and lightly touched his cheek, caressing it. “Baby, that wasn’t a request.”

He pressed lips together and sighed, closing his eyes, nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, okay. You’re right.”

***

“I know I keep saying it but I am so sorry I didn’t tell you,” Cayde said as I got the front door to our apartment opened. 

“It’s okay,” I reassured him yet again, gesturing for him to go ahead of me, rubbing his back as he stepped past me over the threshold, Ghost in tow. “We’re just glad you’re alright.” 

Cayde had been apologizing profusely the whole walk back home, feeling guilty for having scared Ghost and I. Thankfully, a physical exam showed nothing had been wrong, just what we’d suspected and what tended to happen with some Exo’s where trauma or an incident triggered something in their memories that could cause lapses. The doctor did however recommend that he take another day or two to rest, maybe try some meditation, and perhaps even consider speaking with one of the counselors that worked in the Tower and helped fellow Guardians. Cayde had nodded but, otherwise, didn’t say anything on that subject. He didn’t have to. I knew that deal was out. Cayde didn’t like speaking to counselors. It wasn’t that they were bad, it just triggered anxiety in him that he preferred to avoid. He also wasn’t the kind of guy to bare all with just anyone and I had felt his defenses immediately go up at just the suggestion of it.

“I know you don’t want to talk to a counselor but why don’t we try some meditation instead?” I suggested to him, closing the door behind us. 

“Urgh. I hate meditating, Ais. It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just … I’m not a froofy Warlock who’s all into chanting to the cosmos amidst dozens of lit candles and singing bowls while asking it to open up some figurative third eye and ‘show me the way’ or whatever,” he stated, throwing up his hands before toeing off his boots and pushing them into the corner out of the way with his foot.

“Whoever said we were going to meditate like Warlocks?” I asked him, crossing my arms over my chest as I gave him a scrutinizing yet affectionate look. He turned to face me, arching an eyebrow. I smiled. “I know you’re not a Warlock. I’m not a Warlock. So why would we do things like a Warlock?”

“But … You studied with them after Oryx and … and I thought …” Cayde shook his head, frowning. 

“I learned techniques. I learned how to focus and clear my mind. They had their way of doing things that worked for them and gave me the tools I needed to find my own path. And I’m happy to help you find yours if it’s going to help you.”

Cayde relaxed some. “So we’re not gonna set out pillows, sit criss-cross, and do deep throat chants while listening to ringing music that gives me a headache?”

“No,” I lightly chuckled. “I had something else in mind.”

He arched an eyebrow at me.

***

“Okay, showered and totally naked,” Cayde said, coming downstairs in a rather proud display, indeed without a stitch of fabric on. 

I blinked at him. “Where’s your robe?” I asked him, already in mine and waiting for him while looking through some music selections.

He looked down at himself then back up at me. “The robe was gonna come off, right?” He asked.

“… Eventually,” I admitted.

He shrugged. “I saved ya a step!” 

I smirked, shaking my head at him. I couldn’t argue that and I did love the view!

He winked and I noticed him look past me at the fireplace. “You started a fire?” He asked.

I nodded. “Seemed cozy with the chilly rain today,” I told him as I waved him over, crouching down, petting the makeshift bed I’d made out of the futon mattress we used on the ship for long trips. I had moved the coffee table out of the way and set up a nice comfy spot for him near the fire, having covered the mattress in some soft sheets, a fluffy, warm blanket folded nearby along with a covered basket of some items for later.

Cayde came around and looked it over, then at me. “You want me to lay down?” He asked and I nodded. 

“‘Kay,” Cayde said and crouched down, crawling onto the mattress, getting comfortable. “Y’know, seein’ this set up you got here and how quick you put it all together, I’m starting to think you may’ve already had this planned.”

“Actually, I did,” I admitted, pressing a few buttons on the stereo to set the albums I’d chosen. “Not this particular scenario,” I added, “but it was something I had set aside for a cold day and a little romance,” I told him, smiling over my shoulder at him.

He smiled back, casually laying on his side, watching me as I started up the music then went around and dimmed the lights, lighting some candles along the way, the soft melody of the ambient music and the the rain against the windows setting a lovely and relaxing mood.

“Huh. Personal massage cream, eh?” Cayde called form the other side of the couch.

“Hey, stay out of the basket!” I told him, chuckling. “That’s for later.”

“This for ‘later’, too?” He asked and I looked up, seeing just his forearm and hand rise up in the air, the small strap on dildo I’d concealed in the basket jiggling back and forth as he wiggled it in his hand.

“Cayde! Stop wiggling my dick!” I told him, unable to stop myself laughing as I said it!

“But I love wiggling your dick. It’s always so happy to see me!” He protested.

“Put it back or I just may beat you with it,” I hollowly threatened.

Cayde sat up, looking at me over the back of the couch. “Oooh! Getting dick spanked! That could be fun.” He then studied the toy, frowning at it. “It’s a bit small, though,” he pointed out, wiggling it again. “Probably only good for one cheek at a time.” He looked back over at me. “How come you have such a small dick?”

“You’re saying dick an awful lot,” I smirked, going back over to him. “And, if you’ll recall, you told me you don’t like big.”

“Oooh! So it’s my fault you have a tiny dick?” He said, looking affronted.

I snatched the dildo out of his hand. “It’s not the size, it’s how you use it,” I smugly told him, sticking my tongue out at him, to which he dropped back on the mattress, laughing!

It was good to hear his laugh after the last few days being so rough. Totally worth him spoiling the little surprise I’d tucked away. 

I put the toy back in the basket then sat down on my knees at the end of the mattress, curling my finger at Cayde, giving him a predatory smile as I did, waggling my eyebrows.

He smiled and shimmied toward me. I helped him the last bit of the way, taking hold of his hips, gently tugging him closer as he settled his legs on either side of me. “This is so much better than I was expecting,” he admitted as he got comfortable, pillowing his arms under his head.

“Good,” I smiled as I soothingly pet his thighs, pleased with myself for creating the right atmosphere. 

“So, um … how’s this go? Am I supposed to talk?” Cayde asked me as I stopped petting his thighs, massaging them instead. 

“You can if you want to,” I told him as he made a happy noise at my ministrations. 

“I don’t even really know what to say. Or where to start. Today took the cake, though, to an already shit week,” he admitted. “Known those guys for a long time. They were good Hunters. Good friends,” he nodded.

“I’m really sorry, sweetheart,” I softly told him. I felt awful he’d been forced to deal with more tragedy at the worst time of year.

“It’s just the way it is sometimes,” he shrugged. “You play the cards you were dealt. They went out guns blazing’, though. Like they woulda wanted,” he nodded.

I nodded, too, and when he didn’t say anything else, I sat in comfortable silence with him for a bit, quietly working the tension out of his legs before I spoke again. “Can I ask you something personal?” 

He arched an eyebrow at me, tugging his arm out from under his head and gestured over his prone and naked body on full display for me as if silently saying: ‘Can we get more personal?’.

I smiled, chuckling a little. “I know, but I like to ask before just springing something on you.”

“Appreciated but you don’t have to do that anymore, beautiful. Not that you ever did. So go ahead. Ask me anything you want.” 

I nodded. “What’s, um … what’s the Journey’s End Prayer?” I carefully asked, my curiosity having got the better of me. 

His eyebrows rose as if surprised by the question. “Zavala and Ikora?” He asked, as if that could be the only way I’d hear about it. 

I nodded. 

“Mm,” he grunted, nodding, then closed his eyes and tilted his head back, clearing his throat. “When I come to the end of my journey … and I travel my last mile … just forget if you can that I ever frowned and remember only the smile,” he quietly yet beautifully recited. “Forget unkind words I have spoken; Remember some good I have done. Forget that I ever had a heartache and remember I’ve had loads of fun.” He briefly paused, smiling a little. “Forget that I have stumbled and blundered and sometimes fell by the way. Remember I have fought some hard battles and won, 'ere the close of the day. Then, forget to grieve for my going, I would not have you sad for a day. But, in summer … just gather some flowers and remember the place where I lay. And come in the evening when the sun paints the sky in the west. Stand for a few moments beside me and … remember only my best.”

My hands had stilled at the soft and sombre yet fond way he’d spoken the words. I blinked, feeling my eyes sting a little with emotion. “That was really beautiful,” I murmured.

Cayde opened his eyes, looking up at me, and tugged his arms out form under his head, sitting up. “Don’t even know who wrote it or where it came from. Found it on a small piece of paper folded into a bookmark and tucked away in an old library. Lost the piece of paper a long time ago but never forgot the words. Stuff like that just sticks with me.”

“It suits you,” I nodded, softly smiling. "Perfect for a Hunter."

“For Ghost’s, too,” he added. 

“You said it for Sundance?” I actually wasn’t surprised.

He nodded. “The day we placed her in her urn,” he nodded. He then tilted his head at me, studying my face. “Wondering why I never told you about it?”

I shrugged then nodded. “I figured it was just one of those things you keep close to the chest. And you don’t have to tell me everything. Almost everything but not everything,” I lightly joked.

He smiled. “Honestly, I never told you cause …” He looked at my hands on his thighs and laid his over mine, petting them softly. “I got instructions that … y’know, if that day comes and … and there is no bringin’ me back …”

“You want it spoken for you,” I murmured.

He nodded. “Yeah. Morbid subject. And, for obvious reasons, never seemed like there was a good time to just walk up to you and say: ‘Hey, if I bite the big one, this is what I want.’.”

I leaned my head forward, resting my forehead to his. “I’m glad you told me. And I promise, if …” I really couldn’t finish that sentence but felt Cayde nod.

“Mmm,” he grunted then cleared his throat. “Gaah.” I lifted my head away from his as he looked away, blinking and wiping at the corner of his eye. “Damned allergies,” he muttered.

I smirked and cupped his cheeks in my hands, getting him to turn his head back to me so I could kiss his cheeks. “They always strike at the worst times don’t they?”

“Always,” he nodded, lightly chuckling.

My hands slid down to his chest and I pet it softly as I stared at the center of it. “Okay?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Ais?”

“Mmm?”

“Y’know those dreams I’d been having … it was the opposite.”

I looked up at him. “Opposite?”

“Who dies,” he clarified. “What happened with you and me and Ghost when we went after Hiraks … The Pyramid twisted it. You were the one he controlled. Whatever simulation it pulled me into, it stopped right before …” He shook his head. “In my dream, though, I … I have no choice. I gotta shoot you to stop you killin’ Ghost. Thing is, each time it plays out, somethin’ goes wrong and Ghost dies at the same time and … and I lose ya both,” he uttered, looking away.

I didn’t say a word. I knew I didn’t have to. I just hugged him and felt him hug me back, pressing his face to the side of my neck. 

“I know it’s just a bad dream,” he quietly told me. “But I don’t know what I’d ever do without ya, Ais. You or Ghost. I think … I think I’d just … stop. Like … my systems wouldn’t be able to handle it and I’d just shut down. It rattles me every time. Not the dyin’. Bein’ without you. And all of it’s way worse than the dreams of the tower. Leaves me with this awful feelin’ deep down in my - w-well, whatever you’d consider guts for an Exo. No matter what I did I couldn’t shake it so … That’s why I stopped sleepin’. Just didn’t realize I’d gotten into a rhythm - that I got used to sleeping since we’ve been together. Guess this ol’ brain of mine didn’t like the shake up.”

I pet the back of his head and lightly held it in place as I pressed a kiss to his cheek, letting my lips linger before quietly speaking. “If something ever did happen … I promise you, Firefly, I’ll be right there waiting for you.” I couldn’t even finish saying that without tears flooding my eyes and my voice trembling. I hoped nothing like that would ever come to pass. But, if our time did come, I wanted it to be that we went out together so we never had to endure even a moment without each other. 

He lifted his head away from my shoulder, his optics glistening. He smiled, softly, the plates around his mouth trembling as much as my voice had. “I love you. So much,” he breathed then captured my lips in an emotion-filled kiss that found us both eventually laying down together, pressed as close as we could be, hands touching and exploring, leaving warm, tender trails of Light over each others skin with the tips of our fingers. Reverent whispers of sweet-nothings passed between us as easily as the breath we shared with each kiss. Our passion began to build and soon all the worries and sadness of the last few days - all the lingering ills of the nightmares - faded away. Cayde eased the silky folds of my robe open, exposing my bare chest, slipping his hands inside the loose fabric to wrap his arms around me, flicking the tip of his tongue against a hardened nipple before gently suckling on it. I arched back, cradling his head in my arms as he did, moaning, wrapping my leg around his hip.

I soon found myself on my back, robe splayed open beneath me and Cayde hovering at my side, leaning in, kissing my lips again. I whimpered, feeling warm fingertips tingling my skin as they slowly moved lower and lower down my body and between my thighs. I gasped when I felt them tease me, Cayde’s middle finger slowly circling my clit, giving just the right amount of pressure. I looked up into his eyes, panting, and he coyly smiled then tilted his head, leaning back in, and nibbled at my neck. I squeaked and trembled, unable to help it, beginning to writhe. That was when I felt him change the position of his fingers, carefully, slowly, easing two inside me.

“Cayde!” I gaped, grabbing at his arm, not in protest but in need, rolling my hips up into his touch. A low, rubbing chuckle from him reverberated through me, sending delightful chills up and down my spine, my skin prickling with goosebumps! I rocked my hips, soon feeling him add his thumb, lightly massaging it against the swollen nub as his fingers curled, finding that magic spot, thrusting them in and out, faster and faster. I cried out, bucking my hips uncontrollably, grabbing onto him tight and growling into his shoulder as I trembled, teeth chattering, my breath hissing past them! I teetered precariously on the edge until I let out a choked cry, coming harder than I could ever recall having done so before! 

Cayde eased his thumb away but kept his fingers moving, gradually slowing them as I came down from the orgasmic high, panting, cheeks flushed, skin glisting with a light sheen of sweat. As my vision cleared and I got my wits back about me, I looked up at Cayde once again and smiled at him. “Holy shit, handsome,” I panted with praise. That had been … WOW.

Cayde chuckled and I felt him ease his hand away, bringing wet, shiny fingers to his lips, licking the tips of them with his tongue before rumbling happily. My eyes widened as I gaped at him. He’d never done anything like that before! I was stunned. “Divine,” he rumbled, his usual light tenor a good octave or two deeper than usual.

“Where did this side come from?” I asked him, still in awe.

“Like it?” He asked, his cheek plates shifting up to create a sly grin. 

“Fucking love it,” I practically growled, myself, my hand going to the back of his head, pulling him down for another heated kiss.

Somewhere in the euphoria, we ended up trading positions and my robe became completely abandoned in favor of the strap on. At the moment, though, it was merely a teasing showpiece as I did for Cayde what he’d done for me, taking my time to make him writhe and squirm beneath me as I tantalized each and every one of his most sensitive areas, leaving him gasping and begging for more.

My favorite part was when I completely surprised him, having inched my way down his body, nibbling down the insides of his thighs and nuzzling that beautiful, heady arousal of his, making him whimper in anticipation, only to go even lower still.

At the very first light and very brief touch of the tip of my tongue, I felt him tense and his body jerk as he sat upright onto his elbows, but I knew the move wasn’t in protest, simply disbelieving surprise! “Ais, a-are you - ?! Oh! Oh, stars … Oh, you are … Ooooh. O-okay, that’s, um …. Oooooh … Oh, fuuuuuuuuck, that’s amazing!” I heard a light, fluffy thud as he fell back down onto the mattress and it was all I could do not to laugh with amusement as I worked my tongue and lips against his entrance, feeling his body shift as he arched, followed by a very long, very deep and gargling moan that seemed to come all the way from his toes!

When I sensed he not just wanted but needed more, I eased away, sitting up to see him laying before me, looking as if he’d just been completely ravaged, legs parted, arms splayed out at his sides, chest heaving. It was almost a pity he couldn’t sweat. I’m sure it would have only added to the already sublime sight that lay before me.

My fingers dipped into the open jar I had set beside us, lifting out a dollop of the silky cream. I watched Cayde watching them as I brought them between his legs and massaged his waiting entrance. He shivered, ruching the sheets as he fisted them, eyes closing, jaw tightening as he groaned and trembled at the touch. I gently eased my middle finger in, just a little ways, feeling how tight he was. The trembling intensified. “Please,” he begged. “Please, please, please …”

I grinned and eased my other finger in, gently scissoring them. Cayde let out a soft cry, his head rolling from side to side, toes curling into the mattress, his arousal twitching and leaking onto his abdomen. Cayde tightened his grip on the sheets, refusing to do anything about it just yet. I felt myself getting wet again at the sight and licked my lips, easing my fingers away, replacing them with the ready tip of the strap on dildo. Cayde opened his eyes and looked down at me. “This what you want?” I asked, sliding the tip up and down teasingly. 

“Oh, yes,” Cayde panted.

“You gonna be a good boy and take it all?” I purred, grinning again as I carefully began to ease it inside him.

He gasped, his eyelids fluttering as he tried not to let his eyes roll back. “Y-yes,” he brokenly managed.

Oh, Traveler help me, he was absolutely the most glorious thing ever right now!

I inched forward, slowly sinking into him as I braced myself over him. Cayde’s head dropped back, his mouth falling open, orange light flashing as he groaned with ecstasy, wrapping his legs around me as I began to slowly rock into him.

“Ais! Ai- OH! Oh, yes! Y- Yes! Just … Oh, just like that!” Cayde babbled, head thrashing back and forth. I wouldn’t be able to wipe the grin from my face even if I had to, soaking up every last word and gasp from him as if it were what sustained me. 

Eventually, Cayde moved his legs and I helped him brace them over my shoulders, leaning into him as I began to thrust harder and faster while he stroked himself to the same rhythm as my hips. He looked up at me, lips parted, panting. I captured them, kissing him as he whimpered into my mouth needfully, touching the side of my face, holding his fingers to my cheek as if afraid I'd move away. I never did, even as he neared his climax, I stayed close, pressing my forehead to his, his breath hot against my face, coming faster as he began to lowly growl, the teal plates around his mouth inching back in a concentrated snarl.

He was right there … almost …

Cayde suddenly let out a strangled cry and I felt heat splash against my breasts as he curled into me, jerking, his body tensed as it rode out the orgasm. “Oh … fuck!” He hissed, then uncurled and flopped onto his back, gasping for air, arms falling out at his sides, legs weak and threatening to slide off my shoulders.

I gradually slowed my hips then stilled, holding myself in place as he took the time he needed to calm.

When he finally had his wits back about him, he slid his legs off my shoulders and I carefully eased away, unclasping the strap on, setting it aside. Then I cleaned us both up, Cayde laying back, watching me with a dumbfounded smile and sleepy-looking eyes, already willfully allowing himself to begin to drift. I leaned over and kissed the tip of his horn. “Sleep, baby,” I whispered to him. “I’ll be right here,” I promised and, once everything was set aside, I unfolded the blanket, settled in behind him, covered us both, and held him close as we both finally found some much needed and a much more peaceful sleep than we’d had in days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Hands out fans*. You all doing okay or are you just puddles on the floor like I was after writing this? 😊


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. A couple holidays added into the mix of other stuff really slowed me down on top of just being tired and needing to find motivation to actually write it. But here you go. It's short, but sweet and a scene I just really wanted to convey at the end. Hope you all enjoy! ❤️

“I’m telling’ ya, Z, one-a these days it’s gonna be like it was. You just watch,” Cayde said to Zavala as I approached the two, standing together looking out over the City, Zavala standing with his hands braced on the railing, Cayde leaning over on his elbows, legs crossed. 

“I want to believe it, Cayde,” Zavala quietly told him, looking up at the Traveler and the broken pieces lazily circling its orbit. “But with the discovery of that ship … Could it be? A second Collapse?”

“Have a little faith, Big Guy,” Cayde said and Zavala turned his head to look at him. “Ain’t over til it’s over and all the cards are played. And we still got a few in the deck.”

“Unusually sage advice from you,” Zavala noted.

“I have my moments,” Cayde nodded. “And I’m a hardcore optimist, you know that. Plus, my better half has this _really_ annoying habit of keeping the hope alive and the bad guys at bay,” he added, throwing a thumb over his shoulder in my direction. Zavala turned, looking mildly surprised to see me, apparently not having heard me. Cayde, though, even without our bond, he was a Hunter. He likely heard me before I even got more than a few steps past Tess.

“Aislin,” he nodded. 

“Hi,” I smiled at him in greeting, walking up to Cayde’s side, laying my arm across his back as I leaned over him, kissing his cheek. “Everything’s all set.”

“Oh, perfect!” Cayde smiled, clapping his hands together, righting himself.

“You two are off then?” Zavala asked.

Cayde nodded. “Yup. And, I know, I know. You’re gonna miss me. You don’t have to say it, Big Guy, I can see it all over your face.” 

I looked at Zavala only to see him casting what I could only call an unamused and bored glare in Cayde’s direction. Deep down, I knew it was hardly that. But there was no way he’d let Cayde think he’d miss him. 

“Hey, don’t worry,” Cayde said, clapping Zavala on his oversized shoulder. “It’s just for the night. But if you’re missin’ me too bad, I set up a chair by Colonel. She’ll keep ya company.” 

Zavala grunted in reply. “You’re losing daylight, Cayde,” he drawled but there was the faintest hint of a smirk on his lips.

“Yeah, yeah. OH! Speaking of light!” Cayde pronounced, snapping his fingers and pointing ‘guns’ in both mine and Zavala’s direction. He hopped up on the railing.

Oh no. He was really going to do it, wasn’t he? “Cayde …” I winced. I hated seeing him up there like that. I knew he’d be fine, even falling, but eeeergh. The sight of him balancing so precariously on a thin railing so far up … My toes curled in my boots and my stomach dropped.

“Cayde. Don’t. You. Dare,” Zavala warned him. 

Cayde looked at Zavala, then at me. He smirked and gave me a wink, then leaned back and let himself fall off the edge of the Tower.

Zavala let out a very long, very deep and exasperated sigh as he dropped his forehead to his hand, rubbing at his worried brow. 

I couldn’t even look. The only way I’d known he’d hit the ground was when I heard a few distant, startled screams from far below. Part of me wanted to laugh. Another part was having the same reaction as Zavala.

“He really did it,” Ghost stated, appearing beside me. 

“Yup,” I nodded.

“Fixing the broken pavement is coming out of his pay,” Zavala grumbled. 

***

“The look on his face when I came back up!” Cayde laughed, holding his sides as he cackled from his seat next to me in the ship. “The vein on - Haha! The vein on his forehead! Ah, ha! Oooooh! Oh, that was beautiful!” He wiped away an imaginary tear at the corner of his eye.

“You are terrible,” I told him, glancing over at him from the pilot’s chair. It was pretty funny, though, even though I was really trying not to egg him on. 

“Those poor New Lights,” Ghost uttered, shaking himself back and forth.

“Eh, it’s good for ‘em,” Cayde told him, waving it off. “Kinda wish I did that when you two came to the City,” he added, smirking at me. “Would’ve loved to have seen the look on your face!”

“Considering what we’d just finished dealing with before getting to the City, I don’t know about Ghost, but I likely would’ve been surprised but not freaking out like that Titan Ghost mentioned was in a panic.”

“Oh, that poor guy. Yeah. Oops,” Cayde snickered. “Z’s got his work cut out for him with that one.”

I nodded. “Mm. All thanks to you,” I noted, giving him a look, unable to stop a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. “Poor guy’s traumatized.”

“I think Cayde’s body sparking was what did him in,” Ghost mentioned. “He nearly fainted.”

“I was sparking?” Cayde asked, looking up at Ghost with raised eyebrows.

Ghost bobbed. “Out your right hip and your shoulder. A couple of your circuits were arcing.

“Cool!” Cayde grinned.

“Actually … It was pretty funny,” Ghost admitted, his voice wavering a bit as he glanced at me. “He leaned over Cayde and Cayde’s body zapped and jerked a little and that Titan jumped a mile and shrieked.”

Cayde broke into laughter again, Ghost finally giving in and laughing as well.

“Et tu, Little Light?” I asked, glancing up at him, my jaw tight as I tried not to join in the laughter.

“Oh, come on!” Cayde sputtered, snorting between giggles. “Admit it already! I can feel you’re gettin’ a kick out of it, so no sense denying it!”

I glared at him, then shook my head, giving in and smirked. Cayde was right. I couldn’t deny it. I was very funny! “Fine,” I finally conceded, chuckling.

“Ha! There she is!” He cheered, clapping my shoulder. “Next time we do it together.”

I looked over at him like he was nuts.

***

“Not picking up on activity in the area,” Ghost stated, observing the scanners on the ship. “Only major heat signatures are coming from the oxen herds but they’re in the valley.”

“Well, there’s nothin’ here,” Cayde noted, sitting up in his seat, confirming Ghost’s findings as he checked things for himself. “Whatever would’ve been worth anything to anyone - ‘specially Fallen or Cabal - is long gone.” He leaned to his side and looked out the window as we made our approach. I sensed a fond sentimentality wash over him and noticed he was smiling as he looked down on the Monastery. “Never thought this place’d mean so much,” he murmured then looked over at me, his smile broadening.

I smiled back, landing the ship about fifty yards out away from the Monastery, securing it and shutting it down, the engines humming and wheezing as they cooled down. 

Cayde got out of his seat, leaning over and kissing the top of my head as he left the cockpit, and opened up one of the secure storage compartments behind his chair, removing three small bags placed inside as well as securing his canon to his hip.

“I got those,” I said of the two larger bags as I got up and joined him, securing my own canon in its holster.

“Sure?” He asked.

“Yeah,” I nodded, casually rubbing his back. I pressed the control to lower the ramp, then picked the two bags up by their handles in one hand. Cayde closed his eyes and breathed in the crisp air as it filled the ship while we waited for the ramp to fully lower and lock in place. “It’s chilly,” I said, feeling the slight bite in the air through my jacket. “Sure you want to camp out and not sleep on the ship?” I asked.

“You’ll be with me, right? I’ll be plenty warm,” he smiled.

“Oh, _you’ll_ be plenty warm, but what about me?” I asked, doing my best to sound slightly offended by the seeming ill-regard for my comfort.

“Well, y’know,” Cayde purred, leaning back toward me, waggling his eyebrows, “you warm me up … I’ll warm you up, too.” 

I chuckled and leaned over his shoulder nuzzling just behind his ear before giving him a kiss, feeling him reach back and lightly pat my hip before heading off the ship.

Ghost floated out and down the ramp beside Cayde and I was right behind them, all of us turning off to the right of the ship and following along an old narrow path that had been worn into the hill centuries ago from the monks and villagers that had once lived here. I noticed Cayde was looking around, keeping a sharp eye, despite what the scanners had said about the area being clear, ever a true Hunter aware of his surroundings. 

Once we reached the Monastery, we walked up the same winding stone pathways as we had the day of our wedding. I felt Cayde’s hand slip into mine, lacing our fingers together as he held it. I looked down at our joined hands, then over at him and he smiled at me. I smiled back, leaning into him, briefly resting my head on his shoulder. He pressed his face into my hair, breathing deep as he kissed me. “That was one helluva day,” he murmured.

“The best day,” I whispered, squeezing his hand.

“Mmm,” he softly uttered in agreement, his thumb brushing over my knuckles.

When we got to the top, I placed the bags I was carrying just inside the temple alcove then caught up to Cayde and Ghost, who were heading out toward the crest of the hill together on the other side of what was once the courtyard. As I passed the half crumbled wall I’d stood behind, concealing my gown until Cayde had arrived with the others, I smiled, brushing my fingers over the moss-covered stone.

Up ahead, I watched as Cayde crouched down to the ground, sitting on his knees, Ghost lowering himself with him, watching as Cayde brushed some dead grass strands and bits of dirt away from a little flat spot. Once the area was cleared, Cayde set the bag he had aside and opened it. I circled around him and sat down nearby, watching as he pulled out a beautiful lantern made of hand tapped and etched brass with a mosaic of clear glass set within the panels. 

“Want some help?” I asked.

He looked at me and smiled, handing me a flat brass plate that stood on three little feet, as well as a canteen. “Could you put some water in that for me?” He asked, referring to the plate. 

“Sure.” I set the plate down in the spot he’d cleared and filled it almost to the top with the water form the canteen. As I did that, Cayde put a small light purple candle inside the lantern then took some small flat river rocks out of the bag and placed them in the plate I’d just filled with water. Ghost and I watched as Cayde arranged the rocks to the shape of the lantern, then set it on top of them, making sure it was secure. 

“Okay,” Cayde, nodded. “Finishing touch …” He pulled out a small, paper wrapped bouquet of wildflowers and opened it, taking out some scissors with it, and cut off short stems of the flowers and sprigs of greenery, placing them in the water all around the base of the lantern in a lovely arrangement. “Whaddeya think?” He asked, looking over the finished project.

“She’d love it, Cayde,” Ghost told him with a bob.

I nodded in agreement. “It’s beautiful.”

Cayde continued to look it over, finally nodding, seeming satisfied as well, then picked up all the extra stuff and placed it all back in the bag before taking out a small box of matches. He opened the little door on the lantern back up then took out a match and struck it along the side of the box, a tiny flame sparking to life, and lit the candle inside before shaking the match out.

The warm candle flame softly flickered behind the lovely, shimmering glass, creating an almost etherial glow. Cayde set the matchbox back in the bag and pressed the spent end of the used match into the ground, then sat back and drew his knees up to his chest, hugging them as he rested his chin on top of them, watching the light. “Well … there ya go, Kid. Sorry it’s a coupla days late. Been a crazy week,” he whispered, his tone soft, a twinge of sadness about it, despite trying to sound happy, as if Sundance were there and he were trying to keep a positive demeanor for her.

Ghost floated down and settled on Cayde’s shoulder, tilting himself against the side of Cayde’s face, nuzzling his jaw. Cayde closed his eyes and reached up, petting Ghost as I got up and moved over beside him, sitting down, slipping my arm around him as I rested my head on his other shoulder. I could feel how tense and rigid his body was, and noticed he wasn’t breathing. “It’s okay to cry,” I murmured. He nodded, but didn’t say anything, he just watched the candle flame inside the lantern as he continued to softly pet Ghost.

“You know,” Ghost murmured, “right now, she’d be endlessly bugging you about when we were going to get back up on the Moon and find out more about that ship.”

“Itchin’ to go down inta the lost sectors and below the Keep to see what was down in there the Hive were hidin’,” Cayde murmured back with a nod.

“All the while, you two throwing out wild ideas on what we’d find and making bets on how much loot you’d bring back and how many Thrall you’d kill along the way,” Ghost fondly added.

I smiled, listening to the two of them, knowing that’s exactly what would happen. I glanced at Cayde, seeing he was smiling, too, but his optics were lightly glistening. “See how much we could get offa Banshee and what we could sneak past Zavala for our personal collection,” he nodded, then chuckled.

“Nothing get’s past Zavala,” Ghost reminded him.

“He only thinks that,” Cayde scoffed, waving his hand, but we all knew it was more likely than not Zavala did know things we assumed he didn’t. “She woulda loved it, though,” he then said, sighing a bit. “Even though that end encounter was freaky times ten, she still woulda loved the adventure. Woulda loved explorin’ that thing and speculating on what else was in there we didn’t see. And who and what Creepy McCreep-Face really was.”

“Mmm,” Ghost grunted in agreement.

A sudden sob forced its way past Cayde’s lips, making him jerk a little. I lifted my head, looking at him, and rubbed his back. He swallowed and took a shuddering breath. “I really miss her,” he squeaked out, nodding as he closed his eyes. “Eeergh.” His features then twisted a bit before he just as suddenly growled in frustration and shook his head, trying to snap himself out of it, taking another breath. He rubbed at his face. “Awwww, hell, I didn’t wanna do this,” he grumbled under his breath, pulling it all back in and forcing himself to calm down. He looked at Ghost apologetically. “Sorry, pal. I didn’t mean that to sound like I don’t want ya as my Ghost or anything, I just - ”

“Cayde,” Ghost gently but firmly cut him off, moving to hover in front of his face. “She was your Ghost. She was part of you. Still is and always will be. I don’t feel like you’re pushing me aside. I’m not jealous in any way - nor would I have any right to be - and I certainly don’t want you to ever feel like you have to censor yourself or downplay how you actually feel or grieve her. You loved her. It’s okay to miss her around me. It’s okay to remember her and speak of her around me. It always will be. Don’t ever think because you do it makes me feel as if our bond is any less. It’s just different. That’s all. So talk about her. Miss her. And never stop loving her.” He gave Cayde and affectionate bop to the horn with the top part of his shell as if his way of lifting Cayde’s chin to get his attention even more fully. “After all, it’s not every day a Guardian is so lucky to have two Ghosts who love him just as much right back.”

Cayde stared at him, seeming at a loss for words as a couple tears built up along the bottom of his optics and spilled out over the edges of his eyes, trickling down his cheek plates. He sighed and gently cupped Ghost in his palms and eased him down, pressing his forehead to Ghost’s shell as he closed this eyes. Ghost tilted into the affectionate gesture, closing his eye as well. 

I didn’t dare interrupt the moment. It felt like something that had been known but unspoken between them for a long time, and now Cayde hearing it was just what he’d needed. Something both of them needed. So, instead, I laid my head back on his shoulder and closed my eyes, holding him close, and getting the strange, warm sense that Sundance was, indeed, right there with us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go my lovely readers! 2020 was an absolutely crazy and scary year so I hope this brings a bit of hope and warmth to you all in some way and here's to a better year to come! 
> 
> Just FYI, there's going to be a time jump between this chapter and the next one to come. Here's hoping I can get it out more easily now that I don't have holidays taking up my time. LOL!
> 
> Cheers everyone!  
> XOXO  
> C&A


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